First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Short Interest Update

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,130,000 shares, a decline of 31.9% from the August 15th total of 1,660,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 297,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BUSE shares. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of First Busey from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $389,328.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,092,960.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $389,328.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 386,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,092,960.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Joseph Powers sold 6,090 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $143,358.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 89,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,107,088.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 264 shares of company stock valued at $5,319 and have sold 22,790 shares valued at $536,477. Corporate insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LSV Asset Management increased its stake in First Busey by 5.7% in the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,359,080 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,686,000 after purchasing an additional 72,800 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 3,072.7% during the first quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 34,900 shares of the bank’s stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 33,800 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in First Busey by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,159,907 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,895,000 after acquiring an additional 212,782 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in First Busey by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 24,314 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in First Busey by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 17,013 shares of the bank’s stock worth $409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $26.33. The company had a trading volume of 194,136 shares, compared to its average volume of 211,824. First Busey has a 52-week low of $17.51 and a 52-week high of $28.97. The stock has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $26.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.14.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $116.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.65 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 17.18%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Busey will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.65%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.48%.

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.