First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Raised to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

BUSE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stephens lifted their price objective on First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Zacks Research upgraded First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.00.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of First Busey stock opened at $30.86 on Friday. First Busey has a twelve month low of $21.63 and a twelve month high of $31.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $28.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.86. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 0.72.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.06. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 21.00%.The company had revenue of $194.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.59 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Busey will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in First Busey during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in First Busey by 127.8% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,583 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in First Busey during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in First Busey by 726.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

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.