Short Interest in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Decreases By 13.8%

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

First Busey Stock Performance

BUSE stock traded down $0.13 on Friday, reaching $25.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 226,732 shares, compared to its average volume of 213,324. First Busey has a 52 week low of $17.51 and a 52 week high of $28.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $26.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $24.36.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released 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 return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 17.18%. The company had revenue of $116.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.65 million. As a group, analysts predict that First Busey will post 2.05 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. First Busey’s payout ratio is 48.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on BUSE shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. StockNews.com upgraded First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $28.60.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 257.4% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,998 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 1st quarter worth $115,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey during the first quarter worth $142,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management lifted 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 valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by 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.