First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $21.56 and last traded at $21.57, with a volume of 518561 shares. The stock had previously closed at $22.55.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BUSE shares. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, February 24th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.00.

First Busey Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $23.65 and its 200-day moving average is $25.13.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. Analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.64%. First Busey’s payout ratio is 50.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,838 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $43,652.50. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 437,481 shares in the company, valued at $10,390,173.75. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in First Busey in the 3rd quarter worth $757,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 482,287 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,549,000 after buying an additional 39,900 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in First Busey by 168.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 149,279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,884,000 after buying an additional 93,733 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,295,804 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,723,000 after acquiring an additional 22,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 61.5% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 41,550 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 15,829 shares in the last quarter. 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.