Reviewing First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) & MetroCity Bankshares (NASDAQ:MCBS)

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

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares MetroCity Bankshares and First Busey”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MetroCity Bankshares	$135.01 million	5.82	$51.61 million	$2.32	13.37
First Busey	$454.14 million	2.85	$122.57 million	$1.94	11.74

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

Dividends

MetroCity Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. First Busey pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. MetroCity Bankshares pays out 39.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Busey pays out 49.5% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for MetroCity Bankshares and First Busey, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MetroCity Bankshares	0	1	0	0	2.00
First Busey	0	2	1	0	2.33

MetroCity Bankshares presently has a consensus price target of $36.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.05%. First Busey has a consensus price target of $30.00, suggesting a potential upside of 31.75%. Given First Busey’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Busey is more favorable than MetroCity Bankshares.

Risk & Volatility

MetroCity Bankshares has a beta of 0.64, suggesting that its stock price is 36% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Busey has a beta of 0.88, suggesting that its stock price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

25.3% of MetroCity Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.5% of First Busey shares are owned by institutional investors. 27.5% of MetroCity Bankshares shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of First Busey shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares MetroCity Bankshares and First Busey’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MetroCity Bankshares	25.54%	14.97%	1.66%
First Busey	16.94%	8.94%	0.98%

About MetroCity Bankshares

MetroCity Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Metro City Bank that engages in the provision of banking products and services in the United States. It offers customary banking services, such as consumer and commercial checking accounts, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial and consumer loans, including single family residential loans; construction and development, and owner and non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans; letters of credit; and commercial and industrial loans, residential mortgage loans, and SBA loans. In addition, it offers online banking services, which include access to account balances, online transfers, online bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements; mobile banking solutions, such as remote check deposit with mobile bill pay; and automated teller machines and telephone banking services. Further, it provides debit cards for checking customers, direct deposits, and cashier's checks; treasury management services, including wire transfer, automated clearing house, and stop payments services; and cash management deposit products, such as remote deposit capture, positive pay, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

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.