Equities Analysts Issue Forecasts for First Busey Co.’s Q2 2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:BUSE)

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) – Analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q2 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for First Busey in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 25th. DA Davidson analyst J. Rulis expects 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.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on BUSE. StockNews.com downgraded First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.75.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $23.09 on Friday. First Busey has a one year low of $16.26 and a one year high of $25.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $23.06 and a 200-day moving average of $22.64. The company has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66 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.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $108.65 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.74 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 18.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 30.3% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 99,397 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 23,142 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 3,072.7% in the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 34,900 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 33,800 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at about $249,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,552,667 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,537,000 after purchasing an additional 57,392 shares during the period. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 16.5% in the 4th quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 69,264 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 9,789 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.40 per share, with a total value of $61,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 45,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,274. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.02, for a total transaction of $52,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 141,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,252,219.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.40 per share, for a total transaction of $61,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,274. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 4,817 shares of company stock valued at $114,780 and sold 6,900 shares valued at $157,182. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.48%.

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.