FY2025 EPS Estimate for First Busey Increased by Analyst

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) – Investment analysts at DA Davidson upped their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for First Busey in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 24th. DA Davidson analyst J. Rulis now anticipates that the bank will post earnings per share of $2.63 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $2.60. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for First Busey’s current full-year earnings is $2.61 per share.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.15 million.

BUSE has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com downgraded First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.80.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of BUSE opened at $20.99 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. First Busey has a twelve month low of $18.40 and a twelve month high of $28.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.49 and a 200-day moving average of $23.74.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Busey by 1,173.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Busey by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Busey by 822.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 507.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $43,652.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 437,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,390,173.75. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey’s payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

First Busey Company Profile

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.