First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) has been rated as a “Moderate Buy” by analysts, with three holding and three buying recommendations, along with an average 1-year target price of $27.17.
• The bank recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, yielding approximately 4.5%, with a payout ratio of 89.29%.
• First Busey's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $0.63, surpassing estimates, while the firm also announced a revenue of $192.05 million for the quarter.

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $27.1667.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports 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 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of BUSE stock opened at $22.31 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.14 and its 200 day moving average is $22.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.92 and a beta of 0.81. First Busey has a one year low of $18.40 and a one year high of $28.30.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The firm 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 9.76%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is 89.29%.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other news, Director Steven W. Caple bought 1,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.60 per share, for a total transaction of $25,380.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 4,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,394.40. The trade was a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $119,350.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 72,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,563,875.60. This trade represents a 8.26% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 15,625 shares of company stock worth $344,273 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Busey by 822.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Quarry LP raised its stake in First Busey by 507.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Busey during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Busey by 56.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,251 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of First Busey by 726.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 2,004 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

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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