Amalgamated Financial (AMAL) Competitors

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

Is BUSE or AMAL a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Amalgamated Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.0%. 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. Amalgamated Financial pays out 16.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years and Amalgamated Financial has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. First Busey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts recommend BUSE or AMAL?

First Busey currently has a consensus target price of $27.17, suggesting a potential upside of 22.76%. Amalgamated Financial has a consensus target price of $38.50, suggesting a potential upside of 35.04%. Given Amalgamated Financial's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Amalgamated Financial is more favorable than First Busey.

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
Amalgamated Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Which has more risk & volatility, BUSE or AMAL?

First Busey has a beta of 0.81, indicating that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Amalgamated Financial has a beta of 0.9, indicating that its share price is 10% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer BUSE or AMAL?

In the previous week, First Busey had 10 more articles in the media than Amalgamated Financial. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for First Busey and 6 mentions for Amalgamated Financial. Amalgamated Financial's average media sentiment score of 0.90 beat First Busey's score of 0.77 indicating that Amalgamated Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Busey	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Amalgamated Financial	2 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has higher earnings & valuation, BUSE or AMAL?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Amalgamated Financial. Amalgamated 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 Busey	$663.36M	2.99	$113.69M	$1.12	19.76
Amalgamated Financial	$434.51M	2.01	$106.43M	$3.34	8.54

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in BUSE or AMAL?

56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.9% of Amalgamated Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.3% of Amalgamated Financial shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is BUSE or AMAL more profitable?

Amalgamated Financial has a net margin of 23.60% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Amalgamated Financial's return on equity of 15.42% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	9.76%	1.11%
Amalgamated Financial	23.60%	15.42%	1.32%

Summary

First Busey and Amalgamated Financial tied by winning 9 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.