First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 974,000 shares, a decline of 13.8% from the August 31st total of 1,130,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 302,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BUSE. StockNews.com raised First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Busey from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.60.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $26.02. The company had a trading volume of 253,382 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,590. First Busey has a one year low of $17.51 and a one year high of $28.97. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 0.84.

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

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. First Busey’s payout ratio is currently 48.48%.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other First Busey news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $389,328.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,277 shares in the company, valued at $9,092,960.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other First Busey news, EVP John Joseph Powers sold 6,090 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,107,088.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $389,328.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 386,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,092,960.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 22,790 shares of company stock worth $536,477 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 1.4% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 87,257 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,113,000 after buying an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in First Busey in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 257.4% during the second quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,998 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 10.0% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 15,866 shares of the bank’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 27.3% during the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.