Nicolet Bankshares (NIC) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate BUSE or NIC?

First Busey presently has a consensus target price of $27.17, indicating a potential upside of 16.90%. Nicolet Bankshares has a consensus target price of $145.33, indicating a potential upside of 12.33%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than Nicolet Bankshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Nicolet Bankshares	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Which has more risk & volatility, BUSE or NIC?

First Busey has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Nicolet Bankshares has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BUSE or NIC more profitable?

Nicolet Bankshares has a net margin of 25.12% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Nicolet Bankshares' return on equity of 11.48% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%
Nicolet Bankshares	25.12%	11.48%	1.52%

Does the media favor BUSE or NIC?

In the previous week, First Busey had 2 more articles in the media than Nicolet Bankshares. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for First Busey and 1 mentions for Nicolet Bankshares. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.34 beat Nicolet Bankshares' score of 1.00 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
First Busey	Positive
Nicolet Bankshares	Positive

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, BUSE or NIC?

Nicolet Bankshares has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First Busey. Nicolet Bankshares 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 Busey	$663.36M	3.12	$113.69M	$1.12	20.75
Nicolet Bankshares	$520.63M	3.69	$124.06M	$8.71	14.85

Do insiders & institutionals believe in BUSE or NIC?

56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 43.1% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 16.4% of Nicolet Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is BUSE or NIC a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Nicolet Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. 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. Nicolet Bankshares pays out 14.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years and Nicolet Bankshares has increased its dividend for 2 consecutive years. First Busey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

First Busey beats Nicolet Bankshares on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.