First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Receives $26.33 Average Target Price from Brokerages

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com 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 target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $26.3333.

Several brokerages have weighed in on BUSE. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on First Busey from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective (down previously from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, October 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In related news, President Mike Maddox bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.52 per share, for a total transaction of $25,520.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the president directly owned 40,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,027,945.60. This represents a 2.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,350 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.64 per share, with a total value of $34,614.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,254. The trade was a 135.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mirabella Financial Services LLP lifted its holdings in First Busey by 23.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 1,082,338 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,056,000 after purchasing an additional 203,464 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in First Busey by 111.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 3,920 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 2,070 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Busey in the third quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 27.3% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 355,523 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,230,000 after buying an additional 76,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 171,067 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,960,000 after buying an additional 2,126 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Up 0.5%

BUSE stock opened at $23.90 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $23.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $23.65. The company has a market cap of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78 and a beta of 0.79. First Busey has a 12-month low of $18.40 and a 12-month high of $25.62. 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 (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 20th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter. First Busey had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 9.05%. The business had revenue of $63.34 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Busey will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 24th were issued 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 4.2%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 86.96%.

About First Busey

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.