First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Purchases $36,890.00 in Stock

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Stanley J. Bradshaw purchased 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of BUSE opened at $22.08 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.96. First Busey Co. has a one year low of $21.20 and a one year 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 stock has a market cap of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.84.

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

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. This is a boost from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Busey’s payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BUSE. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, First Busey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,689,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 39.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 124,488 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,934,000 after buying an additional 35,360 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 596.4% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 133,264 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,141,000 after buying an additional 114,129 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at about $721,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 65.4% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 114,808 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,706,000 after buying an additional 45,400 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.