Brokers Offer Predictions for First Busey FY2025 Earnings

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) - Analysts at DA Davidson boosted their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for First Busey in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, April 24th. DA Davidson analyst J. Rulis now forecasts that the bank will post earnings per share of $2.63 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.60. DA Davidson has a "Neutral" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for First Busey's current full-year earnings is $2.61 per share.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on BUSE. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of First Busey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Busey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.80.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE traded up $0.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $21.56. The stock had a trading volume of 35,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 342,411. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a 50 day moving average of $21.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.69. The firm has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 0.75. First Busey has a twelve month low of $18.40 and a twelve month high of $28.97.

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 $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.64%. First Busey's payout ratio is 93.46%.

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 acquired at an average cost of $23.75 per share, for a total transaction of $43,652.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 437,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,390,173.75. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the fourth quarter worth about $9,115,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Busey by 121.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 565,001 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,317,000 after buying an additional 309,301 shares during the last quarter. TrueMark Investments LLC acquired a new stake in First Busey in the 1st quarter worth about $5,162,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,498,000. Finally, Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,850,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

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.