First Busey Reports Quarterly Earnings, Surpassing Expectations

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) revealed its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, announcing that it achieved earnings of $0.53 per share (EPS) for the quarter. This figure exceeded analysts' expectations, which had predicted an EPS of $0.52, thereby beating the estimate by $0.01. The bank reported a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%.

Stock Performance of First Busey

On Tuesday, shares of BUSE experienced a slight decline, trading down by $0.08, resulting in a price of $23.45 per share. During this trading session, the volume was 591,070 shares, which was higher than the daily average of 351,792 shares. Over the past year, First Busey has seen a low of $21.59 and a high of $28.97. Currently, the company's market capitalization stands at $1.33 billion, alongside a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09. Additionally, the company's beta is recorded at 0.88. First Busey has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, along with a quick ratio and a current ratio of 0.82 each. The bank's 50-day simple moving average is $24.75, and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.56.

Dividend Increase from First Busey

Recently, First Busey announced an increase in its quarterly dividend. The dividend will be distributed on January 31st to shareholders recorded as of January 24th. This new dividend amounts to $0.25 per share, up from the previous $0.24. Thus, the annualized dividend totals $1.00, translating into a dividend yield of 4.26%. Currently, First Busey has a payout ratio of 49.48%.

Changes in Analyst Ratings

Several research analysts have recently provided insights on First Busey stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price for First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00, assigning an "outperform" rating in their report dated December 4th. Conversely, Stephens downgraded the bank from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" status, reducing their price target from $28.00 to $27.00 in their analysis on October 14th.

About First Busey Corporation

First Busey Corporation is recognized as the bank holding company for Busey Bank. The bank offers a wide range of retail and commercial banking products and services designed for individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental clients across the United States. The operations are divided into three key segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and FirsTech.

Earnings, Stocks, Dividend