First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.67.

BUSE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on shares of First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven W. Caple acquired 1,175 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.60 per share, with a total value of $25,380.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,394.40. The trade was a 35.24% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.00 per share, for a total transaction of $88,000.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 76,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,496. This represents a 5.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 13,125 shares of company stock valued at $286,148. Company insiders own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of First Busey by 45.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,096,605 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $110,086,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596,262 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in First Busey by 52.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,706,925 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613,848 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 54.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,731,366 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,398,000 after buying an additional 608,470 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 7.7% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,309,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,276,000 after purchasing an additional 93,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 32.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 937,591 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,252,000 after purchasing an additional 230,268 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Busey Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $24.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $22.90 and its 200 day moving average is $22.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81 and a beta of 0.77. First Busey has a 12 month low of $18.40 and a 12 month high of $28.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. First Busey had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.15 million. Sell-side analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

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.