First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Sets New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $21.56 and last traded at $21.57, with a volume of 518561 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $22.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BUSE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $28.00.

First Busey Stock Up 2.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $25.05. The company has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.05 and a beta of 0.84.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. As a group, equities analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. First Busey’s payout ratio is 50.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw purchased 1,838 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were bought at an average price of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $43,652.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 437,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,390,173.75. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in First Busey by 2.7% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 20,427 shares of the bank’s stock worth $532,000 after acquiring an additional 545 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in First Busey by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 7,396 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,293 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its position in shares of First Busey by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 111,799 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,635,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Busey by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Busey

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.