First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 1,441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.08, for a total transaction of $44,786.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 131,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,085,559.24. This represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 127.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,583 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of BUSE stock opened at $30.30 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $27.51. First Busey has a fifty-two week low of $22.00 and a fifty-two week high of $31.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.06. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 21.00%.The firm had revenue of $194.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.59 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. First Busey’s payout ratio is presently 42.98%.

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.