StockNews.com Downgrades First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) to Sell

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

Separately, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.75.

First Busey Price Performance

BUSE traded up $0.84 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.21. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 935,793 shares, compared to its average volume of 170,825. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 0.85. First Busey has a 12 month low of $17.51 and a 12 month high of $25.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $22.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.35.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The bank reported $0.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by ($0.02). First Busey had a return on equity of 9.37% and a net margin of 18.08%. The company had revenue of $110.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $109.06 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Busey will post 2.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 139,804 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,017.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 2.6% in the third quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 35,220 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $677,000 after acquiring an additional 880 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 972 shares during the last quarter. EMC Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 27.3% during the first quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 4.5% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 48,247 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 2,079 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 24,314 shares of the bank’s stock worth $603,000 after purchasing an additional 2,104 shares during the period. 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.