First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $31.44 and last traded at $31.27, with a volume of 867407 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $30.86.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BUSE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. Stephens upped their target price on First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

First Busey Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company’s 50-day moving average is $29.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.96 and a beta of 0.72.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. First Busey had a net margin of 21.00% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $194.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.59 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Busey Corporation will post 2.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is 42.98%.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 36,664.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,123,454 shares in the last quarter. Sunesis Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,732,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in First Busey in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,743,000. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in First Busey by 8.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in First Busey by 33.0% during the 4th quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 204,447 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,864,000 after buying an additional 50,685 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.