Brokerages Set First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Target Price at $27.33

Shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.3333.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of BUSE opened at $23.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 0.82. First Busey has a 1-year low of $18.40 and a 1-year high of $28.30. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $192.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.91 million. First Busey had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 8.76%. On average, research analysts forecast that First Busey will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. First Busey’s payout ratio is 89.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 3,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.60 per share, with a total value of $73,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 86,798 shares in the company, valued at $2,135,230.80. The trade was a 3.58% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips bought 1,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.25 per share, with a total value of $25,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,250. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 6,500 shares of company stock valued at $157,175. Company insiders own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BUSE. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Busey in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 56.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,251 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 726.1% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 23.7% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 59.3% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,881 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073 shares during the period. 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.