West Bancorporation (WTBA) Competitors

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

Is WTBA or BUSE a better dividend stock?

West Bancorporation pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. West Bancorporation pays out 64.9% 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. West Bancorporation is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media favor WTBA or BUSE?

In the previous week, First Busey had 7 more articles in the media than West Bancorporation. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for First Busey and 4 mentions for West Bancorporation. West Bancorporation's average media sentiment score of 0.98 beat First Busey's score of 0.97 indicating that West Bancorporation is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
West Bancorporation	0 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Busey	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate WTBA or BUSE?

West Bancorporation currently has a consensus target price of $21.50, indicating a potential upside of 8.81%. First Busey has a consensus target price of $27.67, indicating a potential upside of 15.98%. Given First Busey's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe First Busey is more favorable than West Bancorporation.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
West Bancorporation	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
First Busey	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, WTBA or BUSE?

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than West Bancorporation. West Bancorporation 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
West Bancorporation	$198.50M	1.68	$24.05M	$1.54	12.83
First Busey	$663.36M	3.22	$113.69M	$1.07	22.29

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

44.3% of West Bancorporation shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are held by institutional investors. 4.6% of West Bancorporation shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.9% of First Busey shares are held 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.

Is WTBA or BUSE more profitable?

West Bancorporation has a net margin of 13.04% compared to First Busey's net margin of 8.32%. West Bancorporation's return on equity of 11.28% beat First Busey's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
West Bancorporation	13.04%	11.28%	0.65%
First Busey	8.32%	8.46%	0.96%

Which has more risk and volatility, WTBA or BUSE?

West Bancorporation has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its share price is 11% less volatile than 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 West Bancorporation on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.