First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $27.67.

Several research analysts recently commented on BUSE shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Hovde Group initiated coverage on First Busey in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In related news, Director Steven W. Caple acquired 1,175 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.60 per share, with a total value of $25,380.00. Following the purchase, the director directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 4,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.00 per share, with a total value of $88,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 76,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,496. The trade was a 5.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 13,125 shares of company stock valued at $286,148. 3.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

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

First Busey Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ:BUSE traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.96. The company had a trading volume of 321,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 412,539. First Busey has a 1 year low of $18.40 and a 1 year high of $28.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The company has a 50-day moving average of $22.67 and a 200 day moving average of $22.56. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39 and a beta of 0.77.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 8.32%. The company had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.15 million. Sell-side analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.17%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.46%.

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.