First Busey Co. (BUSE) To Go Ex-Dividend on April 18th

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 9th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of 0.24 per share by the bank on Friday, April 26th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th.

First Busey has raised its dividend payment by an average of 2.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 1 years. First Busey has a dividend payout ratio of 41.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First Busey to earn $2.32 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 41.4%.

First Busey Stock Down 0.2 %

BUSE stock opened at $22.16 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.12 and its 200-day moving average is $22.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.22 billion, a PE ratio of 10.21 and a beta of 0.85. First Busey has a twelve month low of $16.26 and a twelve month high of $25.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Busey news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.96, for a total value of $52,808.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 138,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,190,934.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.98 per share, for a total transaction of $45,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 47,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,503.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.96, for a total value of $52,808.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 138,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,190,934.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders bought 4,917 shares of company stock valued at $117,215 over the last ninety days. 7.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Busey by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,943,012 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,046,000 after purchasing an additional 56,671 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in First Busey by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 46,168 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,146,000 after buying an additional 7,855 shares in the last quarter. Studio Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in First Busey during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in First Busey by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 37,506 shares of the bank’s stock worth $931,000 after buying an additional 2,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in First Busey by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 47,522 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,179,000 after buying an additional 838 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.