Raymond James Financial Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Stock

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by stock analysts at Raymond James Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the bank's stock. Raymond James Financial's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 11.29% from the stock's current price.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on BUSE. Stephens reissued 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 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. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Busey has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.67.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of First Busey stock traded up $0.01 on Tuesday, hitting $24.26. 314,452 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 411,716. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.56. First Busey has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $28.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67 and a beta of 0.77. 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 (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.46%. Research analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other news, Director Steven W. Caple bought 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, for a total transaction of $25,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,394.40. This trade represents a 35.24% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 4,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $22.00 per share, with a total value of $88,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 76,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,496. This represents a 5.55% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 13,125 shares of company stock valued at $286,148. 3.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BUSE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in First Busey by 1,173.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in First Busey by 161.1% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in First Busey by 822.7% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in First Busey by 507.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Busey in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

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.