Park National (PRK) Competitors

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) and Park National (NYSE:PRK) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and media sentiment.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in BUSE or PRK?

56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 62.7% of Park National shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 2.7% of Park National shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor BUSE or PRK?

In the previous week, Park National had 19 more articles in the media than First Busey. MarketBeat recorded 22 mentions for Park National and 3 mentions for First Busey. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 1.04 beat Park National's score of 0.05 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Busey	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Park National	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	14 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, BUSE or PRK?

Park National has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First Busey. Park National 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	3.15	$113.69M	$1.12	20.96
Park National	$543.45M	4.72	$151.42M	$10.29	15.50

Do analysts recommend BUSE or PRK?

First Busey currently has a consensus price target of $27.33, suggesting a potential upside of 16.41%. Park National has a consensus price target of $177.75, suggesting a potential upside of 11.41%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe First Busey is more favorable than Park National.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43
Park National	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Is BUSE or PRK a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Park National pays an annual dividend of $4.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. 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. Park National pays out 41.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and Park National has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years. First Busey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is BUSE or PRK more profitable?

Park National has a net margin of 23.46% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Park National's return on equity of 12.31% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%
Park National	23.46%	12.31%	1.50%

Which has more risk & volatility, BUSE or PRK?

First Busey has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Park National has a beta of 0.72, indicating that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Busey beats Park National on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.