First Busey Corporation Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.25 (NASDAQ:BUSE)

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, July 8th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the bank on Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th.

First Busey has a payout ratio of 36.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Busey to earn $2.82 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.5%.

First Busey Trading Down 1.2%

NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $23.96. The company's stock had a trading volume of 321,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 413,013. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. First Busey has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $28.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.55. The stock 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping 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. Equities analysts forecast that First Busey will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Steven W. Caple acquired 1,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 acquisition, the director directly owned 4,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,394.40. The trade was a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired 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 approximately $1,563,875.60. This trade represents a 8.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 13,125 shares of company stock worth $286,148 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 726.1% during 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 during the period. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in First Busey by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,143 shares of the bank's stock valued at $392,000 after acquiring an additional 8,884 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in First Busey by 64.1% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,724 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 19,431 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in First Busey by 1,659.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 172,810 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,733,000 after acquiring an additional 162,990 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Busey by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 198,945 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,297,000 after acquiring an additional 28,605 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.