DA Davidson Comments on First Busey FY2026 Earnings

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) – Analysts at DA Davidson issued their FY2026 EPS estimates for First Busey in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 26th. DA Davidson analyst J. Rulis anticipates that the bank will post earnings of $2.90 per share for the year. DA Davidson currently has a “Neutral” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for First Busey’s current full-year earnings is $2.61 per share.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analysts have also issued reports on BUSE. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.00.

First Busey Stock Performance

First Busey stock opened at $23.99 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.87. First Busey has a 52 week low of $21.59 and a 52 week high of $28.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

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

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw purchased 1,838 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought 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 owns 437,481 shares in the company, valued at $10,390,173.75. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Increases Dividend

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

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.