Arrow Financial (AROW) Competitors

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) and Arrow Financial (NASDAQ:AROW) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, dividends, risk, profitability, media sentiment, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in BUSE or AROW?

56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 46.7% of Arrow Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.3% of Arrow Financial shares are owned 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.

Do analysts prefer BUSE or AROW?

First Busey presently has a consensus price target of $27.33, indicating a potential upside of 11.93%. Arrow Financial has a consensus price target of $28.25, indicating a potential downside of 3.72%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Busey is more favorable than Arrow Financial.

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
Arrow Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

Which has better earnings and valuation, BUSE or AROW?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Arrow Financial. Arrow 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	3.28	$113.69M	$1.12	21.80
Arrow Financial	$149.82M	3.23	$29.71M	$1.83	16.03

Does the media favor BUSE or AROW?

In the previous week, First Busey had 8 more articles in the media than Arrow Financial. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for First Busey and 7 mentions for Arrow Financial. Arrow Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.55 beat First Busey's score of 1.40 indicating that Arrow Financial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Busey	12 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Arrow Financial	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Is BUSE or AROW more profitable?

Arrow Financial has a net margin of 13.28% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. First Busey's return on equity of 8.76% beat Arrow Financial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%
Arrow Financial	13.28%	8.64%	0.79%

Which has more risk and volatility, BUSE or AROW?

First Busey has a beta of 0.82, indicating that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Arrow Financial has a beta of 0.83, indicating that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BUSE or AROW a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Arrow Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.0%. 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. Arrow Financial pays out 63.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years and Arrow Financial has raised its dividend for 7 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 Arrow Financial on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.