First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.04 EPS

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.15 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of BUSE traded down $0.34 on Friday, reaching $20.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 464,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 338,629. First Busey has a 12-month low of $18.40 and a 12-month high of $28.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.49 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $21.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.80.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BUSE. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut shares of First Busey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Busey presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,700 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 482,143 shares in the company, valued at $10,462,503.10. The trade was a 0.35 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

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.