First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.3333.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target (down from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th.

First Busey Price Performance

BUSE stock opened at $23.15 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of 20.13 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.15. First Busey has a 12-month low of $18.40 and a 12-month high of $28.30.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 20th. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $63.34 million for the quarter. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.56% and a net margin of 11.00%. As a group, research analysts predict that First Busey will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 24th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.96%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.60 per share, for a total transaction of $73,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 86,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,135,230.80. This trade represents a 3.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.64 per share, for a total transaction of $34,614.00. Following the purchase, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,350 shares in the company, valued at $60,254. This trade represents a 135.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 5,350 shares of company stock worth $133,664. Corporate insiders own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in First Busey by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of First Busey by 2.6% during the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,069 shares of the bank’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 2.7% in the first quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 20,633 shares of the bank’s stock worth $446,000 after buying an additional 538 shares during the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in First Busey by 4.6% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $297,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in First Busey by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,237 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. 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.