First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Receives $27.17 Average PT from Brokerages

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 assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.1667.

Several brokerages have recently commented on BUSE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Hovde Group initiated coverage on First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial boosted their price target on First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Steven W. Caple acquired 1,175 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.60 per share, with a total value of $25,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,394.40. This trade represents a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $119,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 15,625 shares of company stock worth $344,273. 3.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ BUSE traded up $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $22.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 110,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,603. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $23.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.57. First Busey has a 12 month low of $18.40 and a 12 month high of $28.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.76% and a net margin of 9.48%. The business had revenue of $192.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.91 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Busey will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

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

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.