First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Given New $25.00 Price Target at DA Davidson

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) had its target price trimmed by DA Davidson from $28.00 to $25.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the bank's stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.75.

First Busey Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:BUSE traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $23.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 267,867 shares, compared to its average volume of 346,858. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $24.53 and a 200-day moving average of $25.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. First Busey has a 12-month low of $21.59 and a 12-month high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Busey will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is a boost from First Busey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of First Busey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $757,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in First Busey by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 482,287 shares of the bank's stock worth $12,549,000 after acquiring an additional 39,900 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in First Busey by 168.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 149,279 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,884,000 after acquiring an additional 93,733 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Busey by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,295,804 shares of the bank's stock worth $33,723,000 after acquiring an additional 22,096 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in First Busey by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,550 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 15,829 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Company Profile

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.