Which Is a Better Investment, First Busey Corporation or Bank OZK Stock?

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Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Bank OZK or First Busey Corporation because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Bank OZK and First Busey Corporation compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Bank OZK and First Busey Corporation

Bank OZK operates as a full-service Arkansas state-chartered bank that provides retail and commercial banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit services, including non-interest-bearing checking, interest bearing transaction, business sweep, savings, money market, individual retirement, and other accounts, as well as time and reciprocal deposits. It also provides trust and wealth services, such as personal trusts, custodial accounts, investment management accounts, and retirement accounts; corporate trust services that include trustee, paying agent and registered transfer agent services, and other related services; and treasury management services, which include automated clearing house, wire transfer, current and prior day transaction reporting, wholesale lockbox, remote deposit capture, automated credit line transfer, reconciliation, positive pay, commercial card, and other services, as well as zero balance and investment sweep accounts. In addition, the company offers real estate, consumer, small business, indirect recreational vehicle and marine, equipment, agricultural, commercial and industrial, government guaranteed, lines of credit, homebuilder, and housing loans; lender and structured, business aviation, and subscription financing services; and mortgage and other lending products. The company was formerly known as Bank of the Ozarks and changed its name to Bank OZK in July 2018. Bank OZK was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas.

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 company offers 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 various loan products, including residential real estate, home equity lines of credit, and consumer loans to individual customers; and commercial, commercial real estate, real estate construction, and agricultural loans, as well as cash management services to corporate customers. It also provides asset management, investment, brokerage, fiduciary, philanthropic advisory, tax preparation, and farm management services; trust and estate advisory services and financial planning; succession planning and employee retirement plan; and investment strategy consulting services to individuals, businesses, and foundations. In addition, the company payment technology solution offers text-based mobile bill pay; interactive voice response; electronic payment concentration delivered to automated clearing house networks, money management, and credit card networks; walk-in payment processing for customers at retail pay agents; customer service payments made over a telephone; direct debit services; merchant services referral solutions; lockbox remittance processing for customers to make payments by mail; and tools for billing, reconciliation, bill reminders, and treasury services. The company was founded in 1868 and is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois.

Latest Banks and Bank OZK, First Busey Corporation Stock News

As of May 14, 2025, Bank OZK had a $5.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $393.5 million. Bank OZK’s stock is NA in 2025, NA in the previous five trading days and down 2.72% in the past year.

Currently, Bank OZK’s price-earnings ratio is 7.6. Bank OZK’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.5 billion with a 47.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 2.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $6.072 per share for the current fiscal year. Bank OZK currently has a 3.6% dividend yield.

Currently, First Busey Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 23.4. First Busey Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $430.5 million with a 13.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -21.9%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.567 per share for the current fiscal year. First Busey Corporation currently has a 4.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare Bank OZK and First Busey Corporation Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Bank OZK and First Busey Corporation’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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