Insider Buying: First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Buys 4,000 Shares of Stock

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 4,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.00 per share, for a total transaction of $88,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

First Busey Price Performance

NASDAQ:BUSE traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $22.15. 18,554 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 498,745. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.78. First Busey Co. has a 12 month low of $18.40 and a 12 month high of $28.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $21.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.12.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Busey Co. 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.52%. First Busey's payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 121.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 565,001 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,317,000 after purchasing an additional 309,301 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in First Busey by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 671,402 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,825,000 after buying an additional 189,115 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 111,799 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,635,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 45,976 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,084,000 after buying an additional 16,954 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 65.4% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 114,808 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,706,000 after acquiring an additional 45,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.80.

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.