First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Short Interest Up 11.7% in June

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, a growth of 11.7% from the May 31st total of 1,200,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 171,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on BUSE shares. StockNews.com lowered First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $28.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Busey presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.75.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of BUSE stock traded down $0.42 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $23.79. 233,482 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 171,325. First Busey has a 12-month low of $17.51 and a 12-month high of $25.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of $1.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.86. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.33.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.49 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $110.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $109.06 million. First Busey had a net margin of 18.08% and a return on equity of 9.37%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Busey will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 18th. First Busey’s payout ratio is 48.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the director now directly 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 hyperlink. 7.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of First Busey by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,220 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $677,000 after purchasing an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of First Busey by 1,143.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management increased its position in shares of First Busey by 27.3% during the 1st 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. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in First Busey by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 48,247 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,079 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in First Busey by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 24,314 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 2,104 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.