Mercantile Bank (MBWM) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate BUSE or MBWM?

First Busey presently has a consensus price target of $27.17, suggesting a potential upside of 21.82%. Mercantile Bank has a consensus price target of $55.25, suggesting a potential upside of 24.07%. Given Mercantile Bank's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Mercantile Bank 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
Mercantile Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Do insiders & institutionals believe in BUSE or MBWM?

56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.6% of Mercantile Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of Mercantile Bank shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, BUSE or MBWM?

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
First Busey	$663.36M	2.99	$113.69M	$1.12	19.91
Mercantile Bank	$361.89M	2.00	$79.59M	$5.04	8.84

Is BUSE or MBWM more profitable?

Mercantile Bank has a net margin of 22.11% compared to First Busey's net margin of 9.48%. Mercantile Bank's return on equity of 13.52% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	9.48%	8.76%	1.04%
Mercantile Bank	22.11%	13.52%	1.34%

Is BUSE or MBWM a better dividend stock?

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. Mercantile Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. 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. Mercantile Bank pays out 29.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years and Mercantile Bank has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Does the media refer more to BUSE or MBWM?

In the previous week, First Busey had 1 more articles in the media than Mercantile Bank. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for First Busey and 5 mentions for Mercantile Bank. Mercantile Bank's average media sentiment score of 1.35 beat First Busey's score of -0.47 indicating that Mercantile Bank 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
Mercantile Bank	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, BUSE or MBWM?

First Busey has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mercantile Bank has a beta of 0.92, suggesting that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Mercantile Bank beats First Busey on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.