First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the four ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $25.75.

BUSE has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday.

First Busey Stock Down 1.0 %

First Busey stock opened at $22.34 on Friday. First Busey has a fifty-two week low of $16.26 and a fifty-two week high of $25.80. The stock has a market cap of $1.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $23.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.30%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.36, for a total value of $51,428.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 139,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,017.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.98 per share, for a total transaction of $45,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 47,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,503.30. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.36, for a total transaction of $51,428.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 139,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,017.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 4,348 shares of company stock valued at $93,953 and sold 6,900 shares valued at $157,182. Corporate insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 1,143.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Busey in the 3rd quarter worth about $218,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter worth about $238,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter worth about $249,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,819 shares of the bank’s stock worth $304,000 after acquiring an additional 4,566 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.