First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $27.80.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $33.00 target price (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, February 24th.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw bought 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 482,143 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,462,503.10. This trade represents a 0.35 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BUSE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in First Busey by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,500,343 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,503,000 after buying an additional 110,895 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in First Busey by 0.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,497,004 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,952,000 after purchasing an additional 6,367 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in First Busey by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,295,804 shares of the bank's stock valued at $33,723,000 after purchasing an additional 22,096 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in First Busey by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,122,896 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,467,000 after purchasing an additional 58,982 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in First Busey by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 707,323 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,672,000 after purchasing an additional 12,879 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Busey Stock Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.54 on Wednesday, hitting $19.21. 1,187,254 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 304,813. First Busey has a fifty-two week low of $18.59 and a fifty-two week high of $28.97. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.75.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Busey will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from First Busey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.76%.

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.