First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Receives $27.67 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $27.67.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BUSE. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of 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 began coverage on shares of 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 increased their target price 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. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ BUSE traded up $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.42. The company had a trading volume of 426,838 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,778. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Busey has a 1-year low of $18.40 and a 1-year high of $28.97. The company has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.82 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $22.71 and a 200-day moving average of $22.53.

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

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 purchased at an average cost of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $119,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 72,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 hyperlink. Also, Director Steven W. Caple purchased 1,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased 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 directly owned 4,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,394.40. This represents a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 13,125 shares of company stock valued at $286,148 over the last three months. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in First Busey by 52.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,706,925 shares of the bank's stock valued at $101,670,000 after buying an additional 1,613,848 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in First Busey by 45.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,096,605 shares of the bank's stock valued at $110,086,000 after buying an additional 1,596,262 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey in the first quarter valued at approximately $19,861,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of First Busey by 648.8% in the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 918,907 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,848,000 after purchasing an additional 796,197 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey in the first quarter valued at approximately $16,837,000. 56.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.