First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Karen M. Jensen Buys 5,500 Shares

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $119,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 72,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,563,875.60. This trade represents a 8.26% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

First Busey Stock Down 0.3%

NASDAQ:BUSE traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $22.20. 241,486 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 359,217. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business's 50-day moving average price is $21.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.29. First Busey Co. has a 1 year low of $18.40 and a 1 year high of $28.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.75.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. The business had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.15 million. Analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's payout ratio is 93.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BUSE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Raymond James cut their price objective on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price target (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in First Busey by 81.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,069 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,516,000 after acquiring an additional 60,506 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 16,983 shares of the bank's stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 201,745 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,755,000 after purchasing an additional 9,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 84,997 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About First Busey

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.

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