First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Sets New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $21.13 and last traded at $21.48, with a volume of 100577 shares. The stock had previously closed at $21.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BUSE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

First Busey Trading Down 0.4 %

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.35 and a 200-day moving average of $24.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 0.84.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.65%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw purchased 1,700 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $36,890.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 482,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,462,503.10. This trade represents a 0.35 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Busey by 1,173.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First Busey by 822.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in First Busey by 507.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

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.