First Busey (BUSE) – Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently updated their ratings and price targets for First Busey (NASDAQ: BUSE):

• 9/4/2024 – First Busey was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.
• 8/29/2024 – First Busey had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stephens. They now have a $31.00 price target on the stock.
• 8/28/2024 – First Busey had its price target raised by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $31.00 to $33.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 8/28/2024 – First Busey had its price target raised by analysts at DA Davidson from $28.00 to $29.00. They now have a “neutral” rating on the stock.
• 7/25/2024 – First Busey had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods. They now have a $31.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $28.00.

First Busey Price Performance

NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $26.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 612,849 shares, compared to its average volume of 210,490. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.13 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.96 and a 200 day moving average of $24.01. First Busey Co. has a one year low of $17.51 and a one year high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 17.18%. The company had revenue of $116.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.65 million. Analysts expect that First Busey Co. will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Investors of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.69%. First Busey’s payout ratio is 48.48%.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other First Busey news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $389,328.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,092,960.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the 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 $389,328.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,277 shares in the company, valued at $9,092,960.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Joseph Powers sold 6,090 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,107,088.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 264 shares of company stock worth $5,319 and have sold 22,790 shares worth $536,477. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 257.4% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,998 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter worth $115,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter worth $142,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

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.