First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $28.38 and traded as high as $29.49. First Busey shares last traded at $29.46, with a volume of 1,022,243 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Busey in a report on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of First Busey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st. 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 note on Wednesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Busey currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

First Busey Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $2.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.39.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.48% and a net margin of 21.00%.The firm had revenue of $194.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.59 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.98%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $43,878.45. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 130,012 shares in the company, valued at $3,958,865.40. The trade was a 1.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in First Busey by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,067,210 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $128,046,000 after buying an additional 194,343 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in First Busey in the second quarter worth approximately $32,712,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in First Busey by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 632,898 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,057,000 after acquiring an additional 32,308 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 601,355 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,306,000 after acquiring an additional 245,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhino Investment Partners Inc boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 101.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 492,113 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,436,000 after acquiring an additional 247,589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Company Profile

First Busey Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. Its principal subsidiary, Busey Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses, institutions and municipalities.

Busey Bank offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, treasury management, trust services and other financial solutions. Through Busey Wealth Management, the company also provides investment management, financial planning, private banking and fiduciary services.