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

Key Points

• Analysts assigned First Busey a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from seven firms (4 buys, 3 holds), with an average 12‑month price target of $27.17.
• Institutional ownership stands at 56.49%, and several large managers materially increased stakes recently (e.g., Wellington, Vanguard, and Northwestern Mutual added millions of shares).
• Recent fundamentals show a quarterly earnings beat ($0.68 vs. $0.61 estimate) and revenue beat; shares trade around $26.67 near the 52‑week high, and the firm raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26 (annualized $1.04, 3.9% yield) with a payout ratio of ~80.6%.

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.1667.

BUSE has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens initiated coverage on First Busey in a research report on Friday, March 27th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $27.00 target price for the company. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Busey from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of First Busey by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,746,996 shares of the bank's stock worth $184,301,000 after acquiring an additional 611,090 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Busey by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,078,833 shares of the bank's stock worth $117,575,000 after acquiring an additional 33,430 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in shares of First Busey by 36,664.6% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,131,973 shares of the bank's stock worth $74,510,000 after acquiring an additional 3,123,454 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management grew its position in shares of First Busey by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,661 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,941,000 after acquiring an additional 102,904 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in First Busey by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,314,576 shares of the bank's stock valued at $31,274,000 after purchasing an additional 145,681 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE opened at $26.67 on Friday. First Busey has a fifty-two week low of $19.00 and a fifty-two week high of $27.65. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $25.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market cap of $2.30 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 0.72.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm had revenue of $201.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.70 million. Sell-side analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This is a positive change from First Busey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. First Busey's payout ratio is 80.62%.

About First Busey

First Busey NASDAQ: BUSE is a bank holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, with roots tracing back to the founding of Busey Bank in 1868. As a regional financial institution, it offers a broad spectrum of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Its core activities include commercial lending, deposit-taking, and cash management, which are tailored to meet the needs of local communities across its operating footprint.

In addition to traditional banking operations, First Busey provides wealth management and trust services through its subsidiary aimed at high-net-worth clients and fiduciary accounts.

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