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

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 482,143 shares in the company, valued at $10,462,503.10. The trade was a 0.35 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $22.08 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $23.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.94. First Busey Co. has a 12-month low of $21.20 and a 12-month high of $28.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced 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 return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. Research analysts expect that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This is an increase from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.76%.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,689,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in First Busey by 39.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 124,488 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,934,000 after purchasing an additional 35,360 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in First Busey by 596.4% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 133,264 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,141,000 after purchasing an additional 114,129 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in First Busey during the fourth quarter worth $721,000. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its holdings in First Busey by 65.4% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 114,808 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,706,000 after purchasing an additional 45,400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.