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

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $27.65 and last traded at $27.41, with a volume of 671775 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $27.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BUSE. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down previously from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

First Busey Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $24.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.92. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.50 and a beta of 0.78.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $201.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.70 million. First Busey had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 9.59%. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were given a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.62%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Mike Maddox acquired 1,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.52 per share, with a total value of $25,520.00. Following the purchase, the president directly owned 40,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,027,945.60. The trade was a 2.55% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,250 shares of company stock worth $54,398. Company insiders own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,113,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new position in First Busey in the second quarter worth about $8,343,000. Bayview Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 173.9% during the second quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC now owns 64,385 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,473,000 after acquiring an additional 40,876 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in First Busey by 99.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 933,467 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,362,000 after acquiring an additional 464,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in First Busey during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,213,000. 56.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Busey Company Profile

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.