First Busey Co. Expected to Post Q3 2024 Earnings of $0.54 Per Share (NASDAQ:BUSE)

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) – Analysts at DA Davidson issued their Q3 2024 earnings per share estimates for First Busey in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, July 25th. DA Davidson analyst J. Rulis forecasts that the bank will post earnings per share of $0.54 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for First Busey’s current full-year earnings is $2.13 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for First Busey’s FY2025 earnings at $2.45 EPS.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). First Busey had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 17.18%. The company had revenue of $110.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.06 million.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com raised First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Busey has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.25.

First Busey Trading Up 3.4 %

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $28.30 on Friday. First Busey has a 12-month low of $17.51 and a 12-month high of $28.97. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.86.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In other news, EVP John Joseph Powers sold 6,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $143,358.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,107,088.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP John Joseph Powers sold 6,090 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $143,358.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,107,088.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $389,328.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,277 shares in the company, valued at $9,092,960.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 365 shares of company stock worth $7,725 and sold 25,090 shares worth $591,240. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Busey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,053,000. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in First Busey by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,359,080 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,686,000 after acquiring an additional 72,800 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Busey by 3,072.7% in the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 34,900 shares of the bank’s stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 33,800 shares in the last quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. raised its position in First Busey by 565.7% during the fourth quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 402,097 shares of the bank’s stock worth $9,980,000 after acquiring an additional 341,692 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in First Busey by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 24,314 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% 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.