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

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $27.65 and last traded at $27.41, with a volume of 671775 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.27.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on BUSE shares. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target (down previously from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

First Busey Trading Up 0.5%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $24.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.87. The stock has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.25 and a beta of 0.78.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. First Busey had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 9.59%. The business had revenue of $201.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.70 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. This is a boost from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In related news, President Mike Maddox purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.52 per share, with a total value of $25,520.00. Following the acquisition, the president owned 40,280 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,027,945.60. This trade represents a 2.55% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,250 shares of company stock worth $54,398. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of First Busey by 94.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,135,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $165,196,000 after acquiring an additional 3,464,965 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in First Busey by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,078,833 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,575,000 after purchasing an additional 33,430 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its stake in First Busey by 36,664.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,131,973 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,510,000 after purchasing an additional 3,123,454 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in First Busey by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,073,087 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,448,000 after purchasing an additional 74,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,941,000 after purchasing an additional 102,904 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.