First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report report published on Monday.

First Busey Stock Down 0.6 %

BUSE opened at $23.12 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $23.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.64. 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 company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.85. First Busey has a one year low of $16.26 and a one year high of $25.80.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $108.65 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $107.74 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 20.37%. Analysts anticipate that First Busey will post 2.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.15%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.24%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.36, for a total value of $51,428.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,017.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.36, for a total value of $51,428.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,017.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $24.40 per share, with a total value of $61,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 45,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,274. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 4,917 shares of company stock valued at $117,215 and sold 6,900 shares valued at $157,182. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in First Busey in the third quarter valued at $369,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 4.1% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 32,280 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $620,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in First Busey by 1.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 385,328 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,406,000 after purchasing an additional 5,025 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in First Busey in the third quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in First Busey by 40.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 4,566 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is 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.