Short Interest in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Rises By 28.8%

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,074,813 shares, a growth of 28.8% from the January 29th total of 1,610,775 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 755,772 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Currently, 2.4% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 755,772 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 95.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,143 shares of the bank’s stock worth $392,000 after buying an additional 8,884 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Busey by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 198,945 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,297,000 after acquiring an additional 28,605 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in First Busey by 64.1% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,724 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 19,431 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 9.0% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 469,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,137,000 after purchasing an additional 38,773 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 78.4% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 222,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 97,560 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE opened at $25.80 on Wednesday. First Busey has a 12-month low of $18.40 and a 12-month high of $27.65. The company has a market cap of $2.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.26.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $201.78 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.70 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 12.96%. Equities research analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This is a positive change from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on BUSE shares. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $27.00.

First Busey Company Profile

First Busey (NASDAQ: BUSE) is a bank holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, with roots tracing back to the founding of Busey Bank in 1868. As a regional financial institution, it offers a broad spectrum of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Its core activities include commercial lending, deposit-taking, and cash management, which are tailored to meet the needs of local communities across its operating footprint.

In addition to traditional banking operations, First Busey provides wealth management and trust services through its subsidiary aimed at high-net-worth clients and fiduciary accounts.