First Busey Corporation (BUSE)

In the past six months, First Busey Corp.'s stock price has been impacted by several events. The company announced its third-quarter 2025 earnings, reporting a net income of $57.1 million and a strong return on average assets of 1.21%. Earlier, in July 2025, First Busey announced its second-quarter 2025 earnings. The company completed its acquisition of CrossFirst Bankshares, Inc. on March 1, 2025, which immediately increased its total assets to $19.46 billion and expanded its banking network. In May 2025, First Busey engaged with the finance community at the Stephens' Chicago Bank Trip and the Raymond James' Chicago Bank Tour. The company also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.515625 per depositary share on its 8.25% Fixed-Rate Series B Preferred Stock in November 2025. Insider trading activity in the past three months shows that insiders have bought more shares than they have sold. On December 4, 2025, First Busey increased its equity buyback authorization by 4,000,000 shares, bringing the total program to 11,666,667 shares.

First Busey Corp. experiences some demand seasonality, particularly within its wealth management fees. In the second quarter of 2025, there was a decrease in farm management fees, which was partially offset by higher tax preparation fees, indicating seasonal fluctuations in these specific services. Certain periods of the year may see varying demand for specific offerings.

First Busey Corporation (BUSE) is a financial holding company operating in the banking sector, tracing back to 1868 and headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. It operates through three segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and FirsTech, offering retail and commercial banking services through Busey Bank, personalized investment and financial planning through Busey Wealth Management, and payment processing capabilities through FirsTech.

First Busey Corp. has a regional footprint across the Midwest and into Florida, operating 78 full-service banking centers across 10 states as of Q2 2025. Its operational footprint covers Illinois, Missouri, Florida, and Indiana, and following the acquisition of CrossFirst Bankshares in March 2025, it expanded its network to include locations in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

First Busey has maintained a strong brand reputation in the past year. In 2023, the company achieved record-high Net Promoter Scores (NPS) across nearly all its business segments and regions, with a score of 56.5, well above the industry average of 23.5. Busey Wealth Management also recorded an NPS score of 79.8, significantly higher than the industry average of 24.9. The company was named among America's Best Banks by Forbes magazine for the third consecutive year in 2024, ranking 40th overall and as the second-ranked bank headquartered in Illinois. First Busey has also been consistently recognized as a "Best Place to Work" across its footprint since 2016.

First Busey Corporation has significant institutional ownership, with 462 institutional owners and shareholders holding a total of 67,842,760 shares. Major institutional owners include Wellington Management Group Llp, BlackRock, Inc., Vanguard Group Inc, Dimensional Fund Advisors Lp, State Street Corp, VTSMX - Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund Investor Shares, Geode Capital Management, Llc, and LSV Asset Management. Individual insiders own approximately 2.93% of the company's shares, while the general public holds about 33%, and institutions hold 64.1%.