First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Sets New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $31.44 and last traded at $31.27, with a volume of 867407 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $30.86.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

First Busey Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $28.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 0.72.

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

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. First Busey’s payout ratio is currently 42.98%.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,905,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in First Busey by 36,664.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,131,973 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,510,000 after acquiring an additional 3,123,454 shares during the period. Sunesis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,732,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,743,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management grew its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

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.