First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Thursday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an overweight rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. DA Davidson raised their target price on First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First Busey from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $28.60.

First Busey Stock Up 2.1 %

BUSE stock opened at $26.33 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 0.84. First Busey has a one year low of $17.51 and a one year high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 17.18%. The business had revenue of $116.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.65 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In related news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $389,328.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 386,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,092,960.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP John Joseph Powers sold 6,090 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $143,358.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,107,088.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $389,328.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 386,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,092,960.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 264 shares of company stock worth $5,319 and sold 22,790 shares worth $536,477. 7.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,159,907 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,895,000 after purchasing an additional 212,782 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 20.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 947,406 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,937,000 after buying an additional 163,042 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 28.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 386,231 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,351,000 after acquiring an additional 86,492 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,359,080 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,686,000 after acquiring an additional 72,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,552,667 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,537,000 after acquiring an additional 57,392 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by 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.