First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Stock Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average of $19.87

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $19.87 and traded as high as $20.82. First Busey shares last traded at $20.81, with a volume of 105,594 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BUSE. StockNews.com raised First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Raymond James increased their price objective on First Busey from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on First Busey from $22.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.33.

First Busey Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.15 billion, a PE ratio of 8.97 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 20th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 19th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.20 per share, for a total transaction of $42,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 62,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,314,400. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $19.89 per share, for a total transaction of $49,725.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 75,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,491,750. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 14th. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.20 per share, with a total value of $42,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 62,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,314,400. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 9,022 shares of company stock worth $186,569 over the last 90 days. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in First Busey by 237.9% in the 1st quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,409 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. DHJJ Financial Advisors Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 36.8% in the 2nd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 53.22% of the company’s stock.

About First Busey

First Busey Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Busey Bank that provides retail and commercial banking products and services to individual, corporate, institutional, and governmental customers in the United States. It operates through three segments: Banking, FirsTech, and Wealth Management.