First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

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

First Busey Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of First Busey stock opened at $23.09 on Monday. First Busey has a twelve month low of $16.26 and a twelve month high of $25.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company’s 50 day moving average is $23.06 and its 200 day moving average is $22.64. The company has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.85.

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

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. First Busey’s payout ratio is 48.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.36, for a total transaction of $51,428.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,804 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,017.44. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $22.98 per share, with a total value of $45,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 47,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,503.30. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,017.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have acquired 4,817 shares of company stock worth $114,780 and have sold 6,900 shares worth $157,182. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BUSE. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in First Busey by 1,143.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 972 shares in the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Busey during the third quarter valued at about $218,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Busey in the fourth quarter worth about $238,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey in the fourth quarter worth about $249,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in First Busey by 40.6% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 4,566 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.