First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Receives $28.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.80.

Several research firms have weighed in on BUSE. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, February 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

First Busey Stock Down 2.7 %

BUSE opened at $19.21 on Wednesday. First Busey has a fifty-two week low of $18.59 and a fifty-two 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 stock has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $23.15 and its 200 day moving average is $24.44.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Busey will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.21%. This is a positive change from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.76%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $36,890.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 482,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,462,503.10. This trade represents a 0.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in First Busey by 2.7% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 20,427 shares of the bank’s stock worth $532,000 after buying an additional 545 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 7,396 shares of the bank’s stock worth $174,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in First Busey by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,293 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in First Busey by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 111,799 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in First Busey by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. 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.