First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Given Outperform Rating at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated their outperform rating on shares of First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $31.00 price target on the bank’s stock, up from their previous price target of $28.00.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com raised First Busey from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Stephens reissued an overweight rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Busey presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $27.25.

First Busey Price Performance

First Busey stock opened at $28.30 on Thursday. First Busey has a 12 month low of $17.51 and a 12 month high of $28.97. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.75 and its 200-day moving average is $23.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.86.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $110.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.06 million. First Busey had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 9.26%. Equities research analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.13 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 19th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.81, for a total value of $54,763.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 137,695 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,278,517.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $389,328.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 386,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,092,960.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.81, for a total value of $54,763.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 137,695 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,278,517.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 365 shares of company stock valued at $7,725 and have sold 25,090 shares valued at $591,240. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 411,749 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,968,000 after acquiring an additional 6,658 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in First Busey by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,602 shares of the bank’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 4,354 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in First Busey during the 2nd quarter worth about $216,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in First Busey by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 72,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,737,000 after buying an additional 2,979 shares during the period. Finally, EMC Capital Management lifted its holdings in First Busey by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $207,000 after buying an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Company Profile

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.