Brokerages Set First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Target Price at $29.60

Shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $29.75.

Several research firms recently commented on BUSE. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of First Busey from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Stephens raised their price target on shares of First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

First Busey Price Performance

First Busey stock opened at $29.56 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $28.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.59. First Busey has a 12 month low of $21.63 and a 12 month high of $30.51. The company has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 19.16%.The company had revenue of $197.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.15 million. Analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.6 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. First Busey’s payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In related news, CAO Scott A. Phillips purchased 5,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $129,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,265. This represents a 149.25% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in First Busey by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,746,996 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $184,301,000 after acquiring an additional 611,090 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in First Busey by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,067,210 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $128,046,000 after purchasing an additional 194,343 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in First Busey by 36,664.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,131,973 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,510,000 after purchasing an additional 3,123,454 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management raised its holdings in First Busey by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,661 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,941,000 after purchasing an additional 102,904 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings 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 worth $31,274,000 after purchasing an additional 145,681 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Busey Company Profile

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.