StockNews.com Upgrades First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) to “Hold”

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on BUSE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Busey from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $28.60.

First Busey Price Performance

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $26.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 0.84. First Busey has a 1 year low of $17.51 and a 1 year high of $28.97. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $116.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $116.65 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 17.18%. On average, research analysts forecast that First Busey will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $389,328.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,092,960.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $9,092,960.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP John Joseph Powers sold 6,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $143,358.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 89,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,107,088.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 264 shares of company stock worth $5,319 and have sold 22,790 shares worth $536,477. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in First Busey by 22.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,159,907 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,895,000 after acquiring an additional 212,782 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in First Busey by 20.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 947,406 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $22,937,000 after acquiring an additional 163,042 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in First Busey by 28.9% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 386,231 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,351,000 after acquiring an additional 86,492 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management boosted its holdings in First Busey by 5.7% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,359,080 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,686,000 after acquiring an additional 72,800 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in First Busey by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,552,667 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,537,000 after acquiring an additional 57,392 shares during the period. 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.