John Joseph Powers Buys 1,005 Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Stock

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) EVP John Joseph Powers purchased 1,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $20.44 per share, with a total value of $20,542.20. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 15,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $312,241.44. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

First Busey Price Performance

First Busey stock opened at $22.89 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $23.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.76. First Busey Co. has a 12 month low of $16.26 and a 12 month high of $25.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Busey has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $25.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in First Busey by 40.1% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,069 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $819,000 after acquiring an additional 9,755 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 35.3% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,888 shares of the bank’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 10,401 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 30.3% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 99,397 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 23,142 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Busey by 3,072.7% in the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 34,900 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 33,800 shares during the period. Finally, HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in First Busey during the 4th quarter worth $249,000. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.