First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Earns “Overweight” Rating from Stephens

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stephens in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $28.00 price objective on the bank’s stock. Stephens’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 21.95% from the stock’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com lowered First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.75.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $22.96. 92,596 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 159,913. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.56 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.61. First Busey has a 52 week low of $16.26 and a 52 week high of $25.80.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $108.65 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.74 million. First Busey had a net margin of 20.37% and a return on equity of 10.38%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Busey will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $24.40 per share, with a total value of $61,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 45,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,274. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.02, for a total value of $52,946.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 141,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,252,219.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.40 per share, with a total value of $61,000.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 45,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,274. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders purchased 4,917 shares of company stock valued at $117,215 and sold 6,900 shares valued at $157,182. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in First Busey by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,220 shares of the bank’s stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in First Busey by 1,143.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 972 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 23,199 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,007 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in First Busey by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 115,499 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,220,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in First Busey by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 32,280 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $620,000 after buying an additional 1,279 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

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.