First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Stock Now Rated “Hold” by Wall Street Analysts

Shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler cut First Busey from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $35.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Raymond James Financial downgraded First Busey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Zacks Research cut First Busey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In related news, Director Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.12, for a total value of $41,961.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 128,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,743,987.52. The trade was a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 4,323 shares of company stock valued at $130,627 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in First Busey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,712,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 101.3% in the 1st quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 492,113 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,436,000 after buying an additional 247,589 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of First Busey by 4.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,067,210 shares of the bank’s stock worth $128,046,000 after buying an additional 194,343 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of First Busey by 453.5% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 233,061 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,889,000 after buying an additional 190,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the first quarter worth about $1,743,000. 56.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $29.36 on Thursday. First Busey has a fifty-two week low of $22.12 and a fifty-two week high of $31.70. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $29.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.76.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.04). First Busey had a net margin of 21.13% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The firm had revenue of $194.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $195.77 million. Equities research analysts forecast that First Busey will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 23rd. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.45%.

First Busey Company Profile

First Busey Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. Through its banking and wealth management businesses, the company serves individuals, families, businesses and institutions with a range of financial products and services.

Its principal banking subsidiary, Busey Bank, provides consumer and commercial checking and savings accounts, loans, mortgages, treasury management and other deposit and lending services. First Busey also offers investment management, trust, retirement planning, financial planning and brokerage services through its wealth management operations.

First Busey traces its banking roots to 1868 and primarily serves customers in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Florida, with additional markets following its combination with CrossFirst Bankshares.