First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Forecasted to Earn Q2 2024 Earnings of $0.46 Per Share

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) – Equities researchers at DA Davidson issued their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for First Busey in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, April 25th. DA Davidson analyst J. Rulis forecasts that the bank will earn $0.46 per share for the quarter. The consensus estimate for First Busey’s current full-year earnings is $2.14 per share.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on BUSE. StockNews.com cut First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $25.75.

First Busey Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $22.80 on Friday. First Busey has a 1 year low of $16.26 and a 1 year high of $25.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.67.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 18th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.98 per share, for a total transaction of $45,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,503.30. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other First Busey news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.02, for a total transaction of $52,946.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 141,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,252,219.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.98 per share, for a total transaction of $45,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 47,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,503.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders bought 4,817 shares of company stock worth $114,780 and sold 6,900 shares worth $157,182. 7.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in First Busey by 1,143.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in First Busey during the fourth quarter worth $249,000. Everhart Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in First Busey in the third quarter worth $218,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in First Busey by 40.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,819 shares of the bank’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 4,566 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Busey

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.