First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Stock Has Average Price Target of $31.00

Key Points

• Analyst consensus is “Hold” for First Busey, with four hold ratings and three buys. The average 12-month price target is $31.00, slightly above the stock’s reported $29.73 price.
• First Busey reported quarterly EPS of $0.69, exceeding the $0.63 consensus estimate, although revenue of $194.27 million fell short of expectations. Analysts project full-year EPS of $2.68.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, equivalent to a 3.5% annualized yield. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the stock, while a director recently sold shares under a pre-arranged trading plan.

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Busey in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Piper Sandler lowered First Busey from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $35.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson raised their price objective on First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on First Busey from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Busey news, Director Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total value of $43,878.45. Following the transaction, the director owned 130,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,958,865.40. This represents a 1.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.77% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in First Busey by 161.2% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 31,556 shares of the bank's stock valued at $931,000 after purchasing an additional 19,473 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 2nd quarter worth about $242,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $503,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 30,764 shares of the bank's stock valued at $908,000 after buying an additional 994 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Trading Up 0.9%

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $29.73 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.75. First Busey has a 1-year low of $22.00 and a 1-year high of $31.70. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $194.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.59 million. First Busey had a net margin of 21.00% and a return on equity of 10.48%. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Busey will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.98%.

About First Busey

First Busey Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. Its principal subsidiary, Busey Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses, institutions and municipalities.

Busey Bank offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, treasury management, trust services and other financial solutions. Through Busey Wealth Management, the company also provides investment management, financial planning, private banking and fiduciary services.

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