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 First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp or Inc. 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 First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp and Inc.

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 Leawood, Kansas.

Stellar Bancorp, Inc. operates as the bank holding company that provides a range of commercial banking products and services primarily to small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, and individual customers. It offers deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial accounts, money market accounts, savings accounts, and other time deposits, as well as convenient services, such as telephone, mobile, and online banking. The company also provides commercial and industrial loans; commercial real estate loans comprising multi-family residential loans; commercial real estate construction and land development loans; residential real estate loans comprising 1-4 family residential mortgage loans, including home equity and home improvement loans, and home equity lines of credit; commercial and retail lending services, such as loans to small businesses, mortgage loans, personal loans, and automobile loans; and factoring services. In addition, it offers safe deposit boxes, debit cards, cash management and wire transfer services, night depository services, direct deposits, cashier’s checks, and letters of credit. Stellar Bancorp, Inc. was founded in 2007 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Latest Banks and First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp, Inc. Stock News

As of February 10, 2026, First Busey Corporation had a $2.4 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $560.8 million. First Busey Corporation’s stock is up 11.6% in 2026, up 0.8% in the previous five trading days and up 8.87% in the past year.

Currently, First Busey Corporation’s price-earnings ratio is 21.2. First Busey Corporation’s trailing 12-month revenue is $584.0 million with a 20.3% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 67.1%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.553 per share for the current fiscal year. First Busey Corporation currently has a 3.9% dividend yield.

As of February 10, 2026, Stellar Bancorp, Inc. had a $2.0 billion market cap, putting it in the 55th percentile of all stocks. Stellar Bancorp, Inc.’s stock is up 28.6% in 2026, up 2.9% in the previous five trading days and up 35.32% in the past year.

Currently, Stellar Bancorp, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 20.4. Stellar Bancorp, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $416.5 million with a 24.9% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was -7.5%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.177 per share for the current fiscal year. Stellar Bancorp, Inc. currently has a 1.5% dividend yield.

How We Compare First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp and Inc. 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 First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
First Busey Corporation	BUSE	C
Stellar Bancorp, Inc.	STEL	C

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

First Busey Corporation has a Growth Score of 59, which is Average. Stellar Bancorp, Inc. has a Growth Score of 49, which is Average.

The Growth Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp or Inc. has a high enough Growth Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to sustainable growth.

First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company	Ticker	Quality
First Busey Corporation	BUSE	F
Stellar Bancorp, Inc.	STEL	D

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

First Busey Corporation has a Quality Score of 2, which is Very Weak. Stellar Bancorp, Inc. has a Quality Score of 28, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp or Inc. has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to quality.

First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp and Inc.’s Estimate Revisions Grades

Company	Ticker	Earnings Estimate
First Busey Corporation	BUSE	B
Stellar Bancorp, Inc.	STEL	B

Earnings estimate revisions scores consider the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, positive surprises beget further positive surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Estimate revisions offer an indication of what analysts are thinking about the short-term prospects of a firm. Estimate revisions are based on the statistical significance of a firm’s last two quarterly earnings surprises and the percentage change in its consensus estimate for the current fiscal year over the past month and past three months.

First Busey Corporation has a Earnings Estimate Score of 62, which is Positive. Stellar Bancorp, Inc. has a Earnings Estimate Score of 62, which is Positive.

The Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Earnings Estimate Revisions Grade breakdown above, both First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp and Inc. have a grade of B. For those focusing solely on a company’s estimate revisions, other financial metrics will need to be evaluated to determine whether First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp or Inc. is a better fit.

Other First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp and Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Estimate Revisions and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Value and Momentum.

Momentum grades help uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming.

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection. Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp or Inc. Stock?

Overall, First Busey Corporation stock has a Growth Score of 59, Estimate Revisions Score of 62 and Quality Score of 2.

Stellar Bancorp, Inc. stock has a Growth Score of 49, Estimate Revisions Score of 62 and Quality Score of 28.

Comparing First Busey Corporation, Stellar Bancorp and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.