First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $18.40 and last traded at $19.21, with a volume of 424635 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on BUSE. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James dropped their target price on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.80.

First Busey Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.07 and a 200 day moving average of $24.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.75.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.25 dividend. 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 yield of 5.21%. First Busey’s payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw bought 1,700 shares of First Busey 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 in the company, valued at $10,462,503.10. This represents a 0.35 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Busey by 1,173.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 buying an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in First Busey by 507.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 1,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

About First Busey

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.