First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Stock Has Average Target Price of $31.00

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on First Busey from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler lowered First Busey from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $35.00 to $30.00 in a report on Friday. DA Davidson lifted their target price on First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research downgraded First Busey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research report on Friday, August 7th.

First Busey Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE opened at $29.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $28.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 0.75. First Busey has a 1 year low of $22.00 and a 1 year high of $31.70.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.06. First Busey had a net margin of 21.00% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The company had revenue of $194.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.59 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Busey will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th were paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 42.98%.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In related news, Director Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.45, for a total transaction of $43,878.45. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 130,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,958,865.40. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.77% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 4.0% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of First Busey in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,712,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Busey by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 632,898 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,057,000 after acquiring an additional 32,308 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Busey by 69.1% during the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 601,355 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,306,000 after acquiring an additional 245,832 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhino Investment Partners Inc increased its position in shares of First Busey by 101.3% during the first quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 492,113 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,436,000 after acquiring an additional 247,589 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About First Busey

First Busey Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. Its principal subsidiary, Busey Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses, institutions and municipalities.

Busey Bank offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, treasury management, trust services and other financial solutions. Through Busey Wealth Management, the company also provides investment management, financial planning, private banking and fiduciary services.