Brokerages Set First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Price Target at $27.80

Shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.80.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BUSE shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered their price target 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.

First Busey Price Performance

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $22.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.77. The company has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90 and a beta of 0.78. First Busey has a 52-week low of $18.40 and a 52-week high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.15 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 8.32%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Busey will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey’s payout ratio is presently 93.46%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Busey news, Director Steven W. Caple bought 1,175 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.60 per share, for a total transaction of $25,380.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 4,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,394.40. This trade represents a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.00 per share, with a total value of $88,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 76,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,496. The trade was a 5.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders acquired 13,125 shares of company stock worth $286,148 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BUSE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 822.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 507.5% during the fourth 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. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the first quarter worth $43,000. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.