First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Hits New 12-Month Low - Here's What Happened

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $21.56 and last traded at $21.57, with a volume of 518561 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.55.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on BUSE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated 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, January 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, February 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $28.00.

First Busey Stock Performance

The business's 50-day moving average price is $23.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $25.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.84.

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First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from First Busey's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Busey's payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Insider Activity

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,838 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $43,652.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 437,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,390,173.75. The trade was a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 1,173.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Huntington National Bank acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in First Busey by 822.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.