First Busey (BUSE) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

First Busey (NASDAQ: BUSE) is a bank holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, with roots tracing back to the founding of Busey Bank in 1868. As a regional financial institution, it offers a broad spectrum of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Its core activities include commercial lending, deposit-taking, and cash management, which are tailored to meet the needs of local communities across its operating footprint.

In addition to traditional banking operations, First Busey provides wealth management and trust services through its subsidiary aimed at high-net-worth clients and fiduciary accounts. The company also offers mortgage origination and servicing, insurance products, and payment processing solutions. These complementary services are designed to deliver integrated financial solutions, helping clients manage assets, finance growth initiatives, and protect against risk.

First Busey maintains a presence across Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Tennessee and Florida, operating through a network of full-service banking centers, loan production offices and digital channels. This geographic diversification enables the company to serve urban, suburban and rural markets alike. The firm is governed by an executive leadership team and board of directors with experience spanning banking, finance and community development, supporting its commitment to customer service and regional economic growth.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $24.41 to $24.68
• 50-Day Range: $22.08 to $24.70
• 52-Week Range: $18.40 to $28.30
• Volume: 165,151 shs
• Average Volume: 520,243 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.20 billion
• P/E Ratio: 22.02
• Dividend Yield: 4.06%
• Price Target: $27.33
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

First Busey Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

First Busey scored higher than 100% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 6th out of 927 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

First Busey has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.50, and is based on 3 buy ratings, 3 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

First Busey has been the subject of 5 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 3.1 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 8.05%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for First Busey are expected to grow by 8.05% in the coming year, from $2.61 to $2.82 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of First Busey is 21.86, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 271.84.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of First Busey is 21.86, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 230.47.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

First Busey has a P/B Ratio of 0.90. P/B Ratios below 1 indicate that a company could be undervalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 4.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.37% of the outstanding shares of First Busey have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

First Busey has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.2, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Busey has recently decreased by 0.81%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

Dividend

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Leadership

First Busey is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 4.05%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

First Busey has been increasing its dividend for 10 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of First Busey is 89.29%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, First Busey will have a dividend payout ratio of 35.46% next year. This indicates that First Busey will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 3.1 / 5
• Environmental Score: -0.49

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.37% of the outstanding shares of First Busey have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

First Busey has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.2, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Busey has recently decreased by 0.81%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.41

News Sentiment

First Busey has a news sentiment score of 1.41. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.96 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 15 news articles for First Busey this week, compared to 6 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

Only 2 people have searched for BUSE on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -33% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Acquiring Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, First Busey insiders have bought more of their company's stock than they have sold. Specifically, they have bought $83,375.00 in company stock and sold $0.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 3.85% of the stock of First Busey is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

56.49% of the stock of First Busey is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

BUSE Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have BUSE shares performed this year?

First Busey's stock was trading at $23.57 at the beginning of 2025. Since then, BUSE shares have increased by 4.0% and is now trading at $24.51.

How were First Busey's earnings last quarter?

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July, 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The bank earned $192.05 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.91 million. First Busey had a net margin of 9.48% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 8.76%.

Who are First Busey's major shareholders?

First Busey's top institutional investors include Geode Capital Management LLC (2.33%), American Century Companies Inc. (1.61%), LSV Asset Management (1.50%) and Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership (1.30%). Insiders that own company stock include Stanley J Bradshaw, Michael David Cassens, Jeffrey David Jones, Karen M Jensen, George Barr, John Joseph Powers, Van A Dukeman, Gregory B Lykins, Steven W Caple, Amy L Randolph, Cassandra R Sanford, Monica L Bowe and Scott A Phillips.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of First Busey?

Shares of BUSE stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of First Busey own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that First Busey investors own include Broadcom (AVGO), NVIDIA (NVDA), Meta Platforms (META), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Adobe (ADBE), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Arista Networks (ANET).

Company Calendar

• Record date for 7/25 Dividend: 7/18/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 7/25 Dividend: 7/18/2025
• Last Earnings: 7/22/2025
• Dividend Payable: 7/25/2025
• Today: 9/04/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/28/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: BANKS - MIDWEST
• Sub-Industry: Regional Banks
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:BUSE
• CIK: 314489
• Web: www.busey.com
• Phone: (217) 365-4544
• Fax: 217-365-4879
• Employees: 1,548
• Year Founded: 1868

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for First Busey: $27.33
• High Price Target: $30.00
• Low Price Target: $25.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +11.5%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.50
• Research Coverage: 6 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $1.12
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 21.86
• Forward P/E Ratio: 9.39
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $113.69 million
• Net Margins: 9.48%
• Pretax Margin: 13.68%
• Return on Equity: 8.76%
• Return on Assets: 1.04%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.11
• Current Ratio: 0.90
• Quick Ratio: 0.90

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $557.44 million
• Price / Sales: 3.92
• Cash Flow: $2.70 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 9.08
• Book Value: $27.09 per share
• Price / Book: 0.90

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 89,066,000
• Free Float: 85,637,000
• Market Cap: $2.18 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.82