Bridge Bancorp (BDGE) Competitors

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) and Bridge Bancorp (NASDAQ:BDGE) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, media sentiment, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation and dividends.

Does the media prefer FRME or BDGE?

In the previous week, First Merchants had 8 more articles in the media than Bridge Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for First Merchants and 0 mentions for Bridge Bancorp. First Merchants' average media sentiment score of 0.65 beat Bridge Bancorp's score of 0.00 indicating that First Merchants is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
First Merchants	Positive
Bridge Bancorp	Neutral

Is FRME or BDGE more profitable?

Bridge Bancorp has a net margin of 23.05% compared to First Merchants' net margin of 21.35%. First Merchants' return on equity of 9.88% beat Bridge Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Merchants	21.35%	9.88%	1.23%
Bridge Bancorp	23.05%	9.83%	0.88%

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, FRME or BDGE?

First Merchants has higher revenue and earnings than Bridge Bancorp. First Merchants is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Bridge Bancorp, 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 Merchants	$637.74M	3.53	$201.40M	$3.86	10.10
Bridge Bancorp	$206.93M	2.73	$51.69M	$2.59	11.06

Is FRME or BDGE a better dividend stock?

First Merchants pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Bridge Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. First Merchants pays out 37.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Bridge Bancorp pays out 37.1% 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. First Merchants has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. First Merchants is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts prefer FRME or BDGE?

First Merchants currently has a consensus target price of $48.25, suggesting a potential upside of 23.81%. Given First Merchants' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe First Merchants is more favorable than Bridge Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Merchants	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Bridge Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Which has more risk and volatility, FRME or BDGE?

First Merchants has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Bridge Bancorp has a beta of 1.14, meaning that its stock price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of FRME or BDGE?

73.9% of First Merchants shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.8% of Bridge Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of First Merchants shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.5% of Bridge Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

First Merchants beats Bridge Bancorp on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.