Analysts Set Expectations for First Busey FY2026 Earnings

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) - Research analysts at DA Davidson issued their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for First Busey in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 26th. DA Davidson analyst J. Rulis forecasts that the bank will post earnings per share of $2.90 for the year. DA Davidson currently has a "Neutral" rating and a $25.00 price target 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, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $28.00.

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First Busey Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BUSE traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $24.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 539,385 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,881. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.87. First Busey has a fifty-two week low of $21.59 and a fifty-two week high of $28.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 1,173.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Busey during the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in First Busey by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First Busey by 822.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,838 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from First Busey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

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.