First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Given Outperform Rating at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $26.00 target price on the bank’s stock, down from their previous target price of $28.00.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson raised their price target on First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

First Busey Stock Performance

BUSE stock opened at $22.51 on Thursday. 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 $23.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.97. First Busey has a fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.57 and a beta of 0.77.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 20th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $63.34 million during the quarter. First Busey had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 9.56%. Analysts forecast that First Busey will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 24th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $24.60 per share, with a total value of $73,800.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 86,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,135,230.80. This trade represents a 3.58% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.25 per share, for a total transaction of $25,250.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,250. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,069 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 20,633 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 4.6% in the 2nd quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $297,000 after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,237 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 640 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

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.