DA Davidson Reaffirms “Neutral” Rating for First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE)

DA Davidson reissued their neutral rating on shares of First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $25.00 price objective on the bank’s stock.

BUSE has been the subject of several other reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

First Busey Stock Down 0.3 %

First Busey stock opened at $23.93 on Tuesday. First Busey has a fifty-two week low of $21.59 and a fifty-two week high of $28.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.25.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. Equities research analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. This is an increase from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is 50.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 1,173.5% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Busey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 822.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.