Analysts Set First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Target Price at $32.00

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $32.00.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. DA Davidson raised their target price on First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Zacks Research lowered First Busey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on First Busey from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Busey in a report on Friday, August 7th.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of BUSE opened at $30.44 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $30.29 and a 200 day moving average of $27.93. First Busey has a fifty-two week low of $22.00 and a fifty-two week high of $31.70. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $194.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.59 million. First Busey had a net margin of 21.00% and a return on equity of 10.48%. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Busey will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 24th. First Busey’s payout ratio is 42.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Busey news, Director Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.08, for a total value of $44,786.28. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 131,453 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,559.24. This represents a 1.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 3.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BUSE. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of First Busey by 61.4% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 881 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in First Busey during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in First Busey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in First Busey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Company Profile

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

The company offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, mortgages, treasury management, cash management and other traditional banking products. Through its wealth management operations, First Busey also provides investment management, trust, retirement planning, financial planning and related advisory services.

First Busey traces its history to 1868 and serves customers primarily across Illinois, as well as selected markets in Indiana, Missouri and Florida.