First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $27.79 and last traded at $27.6950, with a volume of 175474 shares. The stock had previously closed at $27.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BUSE. Stephens increased their price objective on First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings raised First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on First Busey from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Busey presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.50.

First Busey Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.37.

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

First Busey Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Scott A. Phillips bought 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $129,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 3.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,746,996 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $184,301,000 after buying an additional 611,090 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 0.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,078,833 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,575,000 after buying an additional 33,430 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 4.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,067,210 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $128,046,000 after buying an additional 194,343 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 36,664.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,131,973 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,510,000 after buying an additional 3,123,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 102,904 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

About First Busey

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.