First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Downgraded by Stephens

Stephens cut shares of First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $27.00 price objective on the bank’s stock, down from their previous price objective of $28.00.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. DA Davidson increased their price target on First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First Busey from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Busey presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.80.

First Busey Stock Up 3.5 %

First Busey stock opened at $26.03 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $25.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.15 and a beta of 0.84. First Busey has a 1-year low of $17.51 and a 1-year high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $116.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.65 million. First Busey had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 9.10%. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Busey will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. First Busey’s payout ratio is 48.48%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Planning raised its position in First Busey by 45.6% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 55,090 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,433,000 after acquiring an additional 17,248 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,889 shares of the bank’s stock worth $413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in First Busey in the third quarter valued at approximately $540,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Busey during the second quarter valued at $352,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in First Busey by 397.0% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 10,660 shares of the bank’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 8,515 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.