StockNews.com Lowers First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) to Sell

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

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $23.09 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.85. First Busey has a twelve month low of $16.26 and a twelve month high of $25.80.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $108.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.74 million. First Busey had a net margin of 18.08% and a return on equity of 9.49%. Equities analysts anticipate that First Busey will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $51,428.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,500 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Monday, January 29th. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.40 per share, with a total value of $61,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 45,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,112,274. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.36, for a total value of $51,428.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,126,017.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 4,817 shares of company stock worth $114,780 and have sold 6,900 shares worth $157,182. 7.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $11,053,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in First Busey by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 605,177 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,632,000 after buying an additional 34,034 shares during the last quarter. Plancorp LLC boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 742.9% during the 3rd quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 1,320,225 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,375,000 after acquiring an additional 1,163,596 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,886,341 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,475,000 after acquiring an additional 26,829 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in First Busey by 1.3% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 385,328 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,406,000 after purchasing an additional 5,025 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

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.