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: $26.61 to $27.03
• 50-Day Range: $24.17 to $26.98
• 52-Week Range: $21.41 to $27.65
• Volume: 626,618 shs
• Average Volume: 529,767 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.29 billion
• P/E Ratio: 11.88
• Dividend Yield: 3.89%
• Price Target: $27.50
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

First Busey Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

First Busey scored higher than 92% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 100th out of 879 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: 2.1 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

First Busey has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.57, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 4 buy ratings, 3 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside/Downside

The consensus price target for First Busey is close to its current price, suggesting limited near-term upside or downside.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

First Busey has only been the subject of 3 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 3.89%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for First Busey are expected to grow by 3.89% in the coming year, from $2.57 to $2.67 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of First Busey is 11.88, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 44.23.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of First Busey is 11.88, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 23.16.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

First Busey has a P/B Ratio of 0.96. 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

3.48% of the float of First Busey has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

First Busey has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 5.45.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Busey has recently decreased by 6.52%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 5.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Leadership

First Busey is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 3.92%, 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 46.22%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, First Busey will have a dividend payout ratio of 38.95% next year. This indicates that First Busey will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.2 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.16

News Sentiment

First Busey has a news sentiment score of 1.16. 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 0.71 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 6 news articles for First Busey this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Insider Trading: Acquiring Shares

Net Insider Buying

Over the last three months, insiders have purchased a net $89,480.00 in company stock, which represents 0.0039% of the company's market cap.

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, First Busey insiders have bought 223.59% more of their company's stock than they have sold. Specifically, they have bought $129,500.00 in company stock and sold $40,020.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

3.77% 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 $23.79 at the start of the year. Since then, BUSE stock has increased by 12.4% and is now trading at $26.73.

How were First Busey's earnings last quarter?

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April, 28th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The bank had revenue of $197.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.15 million. First Busey had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 10.16% and a net margin of 19.16%.

Who are First Busey's major shareholders?

First Busey's top institutional investors include Bank of New York Mellon Corp (1.30%), Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC (0.25%), Assenagon Asset Management S.A. (0.08%) and SG Americas Securities LLC (0.06%). Insiders that own company stock include Stanley J Bradshaw, Michael David Cassens, Jeffrey David Jones, Karen M Jensen, John Joseph Powers, Van A Dukeman, Gregory B Lykins, Scott A Phillips, Steven W Caple, Amy L Randolph, Cassandra R Sanford and Monica L Bowe.
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 5/1 Dividend: 4/24/2026
• Ex-Dividend for 5/1 Dividend: 4/24/2026
• Last Earnings: 4/28/2026
• Dividend Payable: 5/01/2026
• Today: 5/07/2026
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2026

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: 1,948
• Year Founded: 1868

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for First Busey: $27.50
• High Price Target: $30.00
• Low Price Target: $25.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +2.9%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.57
• Research Coverage: 7 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $2.25
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 11.88
• Forward P/E Ratio: 10.40
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $135.26 million
• Net Margins: 19.16%
• Pretax Margin: 17.88%
• Return on Equity: 10.16%
• Return on Assets: 1.35%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.12
• Current Ratio: 0.91
• Quick Ratio: 0.91

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $1.04 billion
• Price / Sales: 2.19
• Cash Flow: $2.73 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 9.80
• Book Value: $27.93 per share
• Price / Book: 0.96

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 85,500,000
• Free Float: 82,280,000
• Market Cap: $2.29 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.72