Enterprise Financial Services (EFSC) Competitors

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

Is BUSE or EFSC a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Enterprise Financial Services pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.2%. 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. Enterprise Financial Services pays out 22.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years and Enterprise Financial Services has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years.

Do analysts recommend BUSE or EFSC?

First Busey currently has a consensus target price of $27.17, suggesting a potential upside of 21.82%. Enterprise Financial Services has a consensus target price of $64.33, suggesting a potential upside of 17.74%. Given First Busey's higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than Enterprise Financial Services.

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
Enterprise Financial Services	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has better earnings and valuation, BUSE or EFSC?

Enterprise Financial Services has higher revenue and earnings than First Busey. Enterprise Financial Services 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	19.91
Enterprise Financial Services	$920.75M	2.20	$185.27M	$5.27	10.37

Does the media favor BUSE or EFSC?

In the previous week, Enterprise Financial Services had 2 more articles in the media than First Busey. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Enterprise Financial Services and 6 mentions for First Busey. Enterprise Financial Services' average media sentiment score of 1.18 beat First Busey's score of -0.47 indicating that Enterprise Financial Services is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Busey	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Enterprise Financial Services	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of BUSE or EFSC?

56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.2% of Enterprise Financial Services shares are held by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.3% of Enterprise Financial Services shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is BUSE or EFSC more profitable?

Enterprise Financial Services has a net margin of 21.28% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Enterprise Financial Services' return on equity of 11.19% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%
Enterprise Financial Services	21.28%	11.19%	1.29%

Which has more risk and volatility, BUSE or EFSC?

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

Summary

Enterprise Financial Services beats First Busey on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.