Mercantile Bank (MBWM) Competitors

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

Is MBWM or BUSE a better dividend stock?

Mercantile Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Mercantile Bank pays out 30.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey pays out 93.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Mercantile Bank has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

Does the media prefer MBWM or BUSE?

In the previous week, Mercantile Bank and Mercantile Bank both had 7 articles in the media. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 0.41 beat Mercantile Bank's score of 0.29 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Mercantile Bank	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
First Busey	3 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Is MBWM or BUSE more profitable?

Mercantile Bank has a net margin of 21.35% compared to First Busey's net margin of 8.32%. Mercantile Bank's return on equity of 13.33% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mercantile Bank	21.35%	13.33%	1.31%
First Busey	8.32%	8.46%	0.96%

Do analysts recommend MBWM or BUSE?

Mercantile Bank currently has a consensus price target of $52.83, indicating a potential upside of 6.89%. First Busey has a consensus price target of $27.67, indicating a potential upside of 13.85%. Given First Busey's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than Mercantile Bank.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mercantile Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Which has more risk and volatility, MBWM or BUSE?

Mercantile Bank has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in MBWM or BUSE?

58.6% of Mercantile Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. 3.2% of Mercantile Bank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of First Busey shares are held 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.

Which has better earnings and valuation, MBWM or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Mercantile Bank. Mercantile Bank 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
Mercantile Bank	$361.89M	2.22	$79.59M	$4.82	10.26
First Busey	$663.36M	3.28	$113.69M	$1.07	22.71

Summary

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