First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) has been given an average rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.00.

A number of brokerages recently commented on BUSE. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $25.44 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.78. The firm has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. First Busey has a 1 year low of $18.40 and a 1 year high of $26.08.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. First Busey had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 9.59%. The business had revenue of $201.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.70 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Busey will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. First Busey’s payout ratio is presently 80.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Mike Maddox bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.52 per share, with a total value of $25,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 40,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,027,945.60. This represents a 2.55% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 2,250 shares of company stock worth $54,398 over the last three months. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in First Busey by 94.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,135,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $165,196,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464,965 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,078,833 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,575,000 after buying an additional 33,430 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Busey by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,073,087 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,448,000 after buying an additional 74,997 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in First Busey by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,337,957 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,619,000 after buying an additional 28,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in First Busey by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,160,189 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,551,000 after buying an additional 87,524 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.