BFST vs. MSBI, MBWM, MCBS, CCBG, FCBC, INDB, PPBI, SBCF, HTH, and TOWN
Should you be buying Business First Bancshares stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of Business First Bancshares include Midland States Bancorp (MSBI), Mercantile Bank (MBWM), MetroCity Bankshares (MCBS), Capital City Bank Group (CCBG), First Community Bankshares (FCBC), Independent Bank (INDB), Pacific Premier Bancorp (PPBI), Seacoast Banking Co. of Florida (SBCF), Hilltop (HTH), and TowneBank (TOWN). These companies are all part of the "state commercial banks" industry.
Business First Bancshares (NASDAQ:BFST) and Midland States Bancorp (NASDAQ:MSBI) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their community ranking, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations, risk and valuation.
Business First Bancshares pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Midland States Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.5%. Business First Bancshares pays out 22.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Midland States Bancorp pays out 42.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.
In the previous week, Business First Bancshares had 2 more articles in the media than Midland States Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Business First Bancshares and 2 mentions for Midland States Bancorp. Midland States Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.83 beat Business First Bancshares' score of 1.35 indicating that Midland States Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.
Midland States Bancorp received 48 more outperform votes than Business First Bancshares when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 57.73% of users gave Business First Bancshares an outperform vote while only 46.79% of users gave Midland States Bancorp an outperform vote.
Business First Bancshares has a net margin of 17.08% compared to Midland States Bancorp's net margin of 15.17%. Business First Bancshares' return on equity of 12.80% beat Midland States Bancorp's return on equity.
47.4% of Business First Bancshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.9% of Midland States Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.5% of Business First Bancshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.6% of Midland States Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Midland States Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Business First Bancshares. Midland States Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Business First Bancshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Business First Bancshares has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Midland States Bancorp has a beta of 0.79, indicating that its share price is 21% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Business First Bancshares presently has a consensus price target of $23.33, indicating a potential upside of 8.78%. Midland States Bancorp has a consensus price target of $25.63, indicating a potential upside of 12.79%. Given Midland States Bancorp's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Midland States Bancorp is more favorable than Business First Bancshares.
Summary
Business First Bancshares beats Midland States Bancorp on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.
Get Business First Bancshares News Delivered to You Automatically
Sign up to receive the latest news and ratings for BFST and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter.
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding BFST and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
Business First Bancshares Competitors List
Related Companies and Tools
