MidWestOne Financial Group (MOFG) Competitors

MidWestOne Financial Group (NASDAQ:MOFG) and First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, valuation, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership and earnings.

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

65.4% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.5% of MidWestOne Financial Group shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of First Busey shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media refer more to MOFG or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 2 more articles in the media than MidWestOne Financial Group. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for First Busey and 7 mentions for MidWestOne Financial Group. First Busey's average media sentiment score of 0.97 beat MidWestOne Financial Group's score of 0.69 indicating that First Busey is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
MidWestOne Financial Group	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Busey	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has better earnings and valuation, MOFG or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than MidWestOne Financial Group. MidWestOne Financial Group 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
MidWestOne Financial Group	$206.03M	3.01	-$60.29M	-$3.54	-8.42
First Busey	$663.36M	3.25	$113.69M	$1.07	22.53

Is MOFG or BUSE a better dividend stock?

MidWestOne Financial Group pays an annual dividend of $0.97 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. MidWestOne Financial Group pays out -27.4% 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. First Busey has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years. First Busey is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts prefer MOFG or BUSE?

MidWestOne Financial Group presently has a consensus price target of $34.83, indicating a potential upside of 16.89%. First Busey has a consensus price target of $27.67, indicating a potential upside of 14.75%. Given MidWestOne Financial Group's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe MidWestOne Financial Group is more favorable than First Busey.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MidWestOne Financial Group	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Is MOFG or BUSE more profitable?

First Busey has a net margin of 8.32% compared to MidWestOne Financial Group's net margin of 0.00%. MidWestOne Financial Group's return on equity of 8.49% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MidWestOne Financial Group	N/A	8.49%	0.74%
First Busey	8.32%	8.46%	0.96%

Which has more volatility & risk, MOFG or BUSE?

MidWestOne Financial Group has a beta of 1, suggesting that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

First Busey beats MidWestOne Financial Group on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.