First Commonwealth Financial (FCF) Competitors

First Commonwealth Financial (NYSE:FCF) and First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, valuation, profitability, dividends and institutional ownership.

Is FCF or BUSE a better dividend stock?

First Commonwealth Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. First Commonwealth Financial pays out 41.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey pays out 89.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. First Commonwealth Financial has raised its dividend for 9 consecutive years and First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. First Busey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, FCF or BUSE?

First Commonwealth Financial has higher revenue and earnings than First Busey. First Commonwealth Financial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Busey, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Commonwealth Financial	$699.69M	2.62	$142.57M	$1.30	13.50
First Busey	$663.36M	3.32	$113.69M	$1.12	22.09

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in FCF or BUSE?

72.6% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. 2.2% of First Commonwealth Financial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is FCF or BUSE more profitable?

First Commonwealth Financial has a net margin of 18.94% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. First Commonwealth Financial's return on equity of 9.71% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Commonwealth Financial	18.94%	9.71%	1.18%
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%

Does the media refer more to FCF or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 4 more articles in the media than First Commonwealth Financial. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for First Busey and 3 mentions for First Commonwealth Financial. First Commonwealth Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.67 beat First Busey's score of 1.00 indicating that First Commonwealth Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Commonwealth Financial	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
First Busey	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts recommend FCF or BUSE?

First Commonwealth Financial currently has a consensus target price of $18.90, indicating a potential upside of 7.69%. First Busey has a consensus target price of $27.33, indicating a potential upside of 10.48%. Given First Busey's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than First Commonwealth Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Commonwealth Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Which has more risk and volatility, FCF or BUSE?

First Commonwealth Financial has a beta of 0.85, indicating that its stock price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its stock price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Commonwealth Financial beats First Busey on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.