First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Hits New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $27.78 and last traded at $27.4010, with a volume of 11477 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.08.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BUSE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.50.

First Busey Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11 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 0.12. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $26.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.21.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. First Busey had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 10.19%. The business had revenue of $197.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.15 million. On average, research analysts forecast that First Busey Corporation will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.22%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other news, CAO Scott A. Phillips purchased 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $129,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief accounting officer owned 8,350 shares in the company, valued at $216,265. This trade represents a 149.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,135,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $165,196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,464,965 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 36,664.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,131,973 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,510,000 after acquiring an additional 3,123,454 shares in the last quarter. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. bought a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 3rd quarter worth $9,607,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $12,342,000 after acquiring an additional 249,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhino Investment Partners Inc grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 101.3% in the 1st quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 492,113 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,436,000 after acquiring an additional 247,589 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

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.