First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Earns Neutral Rating from DA Davidson

DA Davidson reiterated their neutral rating on shares of First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. DA Davidson currently has a $25.00 price objective on the bank's stock. DA Davidson also issued estimates for First Busey's Q1 2025 earnings at $0.54 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $2.60 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $2.90 EPS.

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

First Busey Price Performance

BUSE stock remained flat at $23.99 on Tuesday. The company had a trading volume of 1,673,777 shares, compared to its average volume of 394,258. First Busey has a 52-week low of $21.59 and a 52-week high of $28.97. 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 fifty day moving average of $23.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.23. The company has a market cap of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.87.

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First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Busey will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. This is a boost from First Busey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw purchased 1,838 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $43,652.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 437,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,390,173.75. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. Creative Planning raised its stake in First Busey by 45.6% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 55,090 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,433,000 after purchasing an additional 17,248 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 211.9% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 100,952 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,627,000 after buying an additional 68,585 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of First Busey by 5.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 191,934 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,994,000 after buying an additional 9,782 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 145.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,954 shares of the bank's stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 17,155 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.