First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Given New $27.00 Price Target at Raymond James Financial

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by stock analysts at Raymond James Financial from $25.00 to $27.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the bank's stock. Raymond James Financial's price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.34% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on BUSE. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 assumed coverage on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of First Busey in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.67.

First Busey Stock Performance

First Busey stock traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.25. 375,851 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 412,105. 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 fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.97. The company has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's fifty day moving average is $22.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.56.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $22.00 per share, with a total value of $88,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 76,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,673,496. This represents a 5.55% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Steven W. Caple purchased 1,175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased 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 directly owned 4,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,394.40. This represents a 35.24% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 13,125 shares of company stock worth $286,148 over the last three months. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

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