First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $21.13 and last traded at $21.48, with a volume of 100577 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $21.60.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BUSE shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.80.

First Busey Trading Down 9.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $23.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.52. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.84.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.06%. This is a boost from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Busey’s payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In other news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw bought 1,700 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $36,890.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 482,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,462,503.10. This trade represents a 0.35 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in First Busey during the 4th quarter worth $9,115,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in First Busey by 121.0% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 565,001 shares of the bank’s stock worth $13,317,000 after purchasing an additional 309,301 shares in the last quarter. Peregrine Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Busey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,498,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust acquired a new position in First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,850,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 39.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 671,402 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,825,000 after buying an additional 189,115 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.