First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Rating Increased to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Separately, Stephens reissued an overweight rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $25.75.

First Busey Price Performance

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $23.72 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $23.03 and a 200 day moving average of $22.79. First Busey has a one year low of $16.26 and a one year high of $25.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.85.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. First Busey’s payout ratio is currently 48.48%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In related news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.36, for a total transaction of $51,428.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 139,804 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,126,017.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average price of $22.98 per share, with a total value of $45,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 47,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,503.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.36, for a total transaction of $51,428.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 139,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,017.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 4,348 shares of company stock worth $93,953 and sold 6,900 shares worth $157,182. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 1,143.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the period. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $238,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the 4th quarter worth about $249,000. Everhart Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey in the third quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 40.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,819 shares of the bank’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 4,566 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.