First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Short Interest Update

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,598,687 shares, a growth of 22.0% from the February 26th total of 2,130,210 shares. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 613,921 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.2 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust purchased a new position in First Busey during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 127.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,583 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 726.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens started coverage on First Busey in a research note on Friday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $27.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Busey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.17.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of BUSE stock opened at $24.62 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a PE ratio of 19.09 and a beta of 0.76. First Busey has a 52-week low of $18.40 and a 52-week high of $27.65. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $25.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.07. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 12.96%.The company had revenue of $201.78 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.70 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Busey will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is 80.62%.

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.