First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $27.78 and last traded at $27.4010, with a volume of 11477 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.08.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.50.

First Busey Trading Down 0.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 19.16%.The business had revenue of $197.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.15 million. On average, analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is 46.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In other First Busey news, CAO Scott A. Phillips acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $129,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $216,265. This trade represents a 149.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in First Busey by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,143 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 8,884 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 198,945 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,297,000 after buying an additional 28,605 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 64.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 19,431 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 469,310 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,137,000 after acquiring an additional 38,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 78.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 222,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,796,000 after acquiring an additional 97,560 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Company Profile

First Busey (NASDAQ: BUSE) is a bank holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, with roots tracing back to the founding of Busey Bank in 1868. As a regional financial institution, it offers a broad spectrum of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Its core activities include commercial lending, deposit-taking, and cash management, which are tailored to meet the needs of local communities across its operating footprint.

In addition to traditional banking operations, First Busey provides wealth management and trust services through its subsidiary aimed at high-net-worth clients and fiduciary accounts.