Analysts Set First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Price Target at $24.50

Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the four ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $24.50.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BUSE. StockNews.com upgraded First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Raymond James increased their price target on First Busey from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th.

First Busey Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of BUSE stock opened at $23.03 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.85. First Busey has a fifty-two week low of $16.26 and a fifty-two week high of $25.80.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 20.37%. The business had revenue of $108.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.74 million. Equities analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 19th were given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 18th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.24%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.40 per share, for a total transaction of $61,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,112,274. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.40 per share, with a total value of $61,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 45,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,274. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.98 per share, with a total value of $45,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 47,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,503.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 4,917 shares of company stock worth $117,215 and have sold 6,900 shares worth $159,091. Company insiders own 7.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. Mariner LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 15,350 shares of the bank’s stock worth $379,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in First Busey by 2.5% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 20,557 shares of the bank’s stock worth $470,000 after acquiring an additional 503 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in First Busey by 4.4% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 13,021 shares of the bank’s stock worth $335,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 28,143 shares of the bank’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 36.8% during the second quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. 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.