First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Brokerages

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.00.

BUSE has been the subject of several research reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, October 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, President Mike Maddox purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.52 per share, for a total transaction of $25,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the president directly owned 40,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,027,945.60. The trade was a 2.55% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 2,250 shares of company stock worth $57,165 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mirabella Financial Services LLP bought a new position in First Busey during the 2nd quarter valued at $20,113,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 88.2% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 533,142 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,342,000 after purchasing an additional 249,908 shares in the last quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 173.9% during the second quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC now owns 64,385 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,473,000 after purchasing an additional 40,876 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in First Busey in the second quarter worth about $8,343,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in First Busey by 99.2% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 933,467 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,362,000 after purchasing an additional 464,859 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Trading Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $26.43 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. First Busey has a 52-week low of $18.40 and a 52-week high of $27.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.10.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $201.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.70 million. First Busey had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 9.59%. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Busey 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 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This is a positive change from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. First Busey’s payout ratio is currently 80.62%.

First Busey Company Profile

First Busey (NASDAQ: BUSE) is a bank holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, with roots tracing back to the founding of Busey Bank in 1868. As a regional financial institution, it offers a broad spectrum of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Its core activities include commercial lending, deposit-taking, and cash management, which are tailored to meet the needs of local communities across its operating footprint.

In addition to traditional banking operations, First Busey provides wealth management and trust services through its subsidiary aimed at high-net-worth clients and fiduciary accounts.