Financial Survey: Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) and First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE)

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) and Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings, profitability and institutional ownership.

Profitability

This table compares First Busey and Eagle Bancorp Montana’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Busey	17.18%	9.10%	0.96%
Eagle Bancorp Montana	7.06%	5.07%	0.41%

Volatility & Risk

First Busey has a beta of 0.84, suggesting that its stock price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Eagle Bancorp Montana has a beta of 0.53, suggesting that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 35.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are owned by institutional investors. 7.1% of First Busey shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares First Busey and Eagle Bancorp Montana’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Busey	$444.45 million	3.32	$122.57 million	$1.98	13.13
Eagle Bancorp Montana	$79.91 million	1.51	$10.06 million	$1.12	13.44

First Busey has higher revenue and earnings than Eagle Bancorp Montana. First Busey is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Eagle Bancorp Montana, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

First Busey pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Eagle Bancorp Montana pays an annual dividend of $0.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. First Busey pays out 48.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Eagle Bancorp Montana pays out 50.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Eagle Bancorp Montana has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Eagle Bancorp Montana is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for First Busey and Eagle Bancorp Montana, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Busey	0	1	4	0	2.80
Eagle Bancorp Montana	0	1	0	0	2.00

First Busey currently has a consensus price target of $28.60, indicating a potential upside of 10.00%. Eagle Bancorp Montana has a consensus price target of $13.50, indicating a potential downside of 10.30%. Given First Busey’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than Eagle Bancorp Montana.

Summary

First Busey beats Eagle Bancorp Montana on 14 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About First Busey

First Busey Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Busey Bank that engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking products and services to individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and FirsTech. The Banking segment provides banking services to individual customers, such as demand and savings deposits, money transfers, safe deposit services, individual retirement accounts and other fiduciary services, automated teller machines, and technology-based networks, as well as loan products, including residential real estate, home equity lines of credit, and consumer loans. This segment also offers banking services to corporate customers, including commercial, commercial real estate, real estate construction, and agricultural loans, as well as cash management services. The Wealth Management segment offers a range of investment and asset management, investment, brokerage, investment strategy consulting, fiduciary, philanthropic advisory, tax preparation, business succession planning, and employee retirement plan services to individuals, businesses, and foundations; and professional farm management services to the agricultural industry. The FirsTech segment provides payment technology solutions comprising online, mobile, and voice-recognition bill payments; money management and credit card networks; direct debit services; lockbox remittance processing for payments made by mail; and walk-in payments, as well as tools to help clients with billing, reconciliation, bill reminders, and treasury services. The company was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois.

About Eagle Bancorp Montana

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Opportunity Bank of Montana that provides various retail banking products and services to small businesses and individuals in Montana. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides 1-4 family residential mortgage loans, such as residential mortgages and construction of residential properties; commercial real estate loans, including multi-family dwellings, nonresidential property, commercial construction and development, and farmland loans; and second mortgage/home equity loans. In addition, it offers consumer loans, such as loans secured by collateral other than real estate, such as automobiles, recreational vehicles, and boats; personal loans and lines of credit; commercial business loans consisting of business loans and lines of credit on a secured and unsecured basis; construction loans; agricultural loans; and mortgage loan services. The company operates full-service branches and automated teller machines. Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Helena, Montana.