First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Sees Strong Trading Volume

Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) saw unusually-high trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 291,880 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 60% from the previous session’s volume of 181,933 shares.The stock last traded at $26.71 and had previously closed at $27.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First Busey from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 6th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.00.

First Busey Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67 and a beta of 0.85. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $25.45 and its 200-day moving average is $23.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. First Busey had a net margin of 17.18% and a return on equity of 9.26%. The company had revenue of $116.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $116.65 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.48%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

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

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BUSE. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Busey during the second quarter worth $34,000. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of First Busey by 257.4% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,998 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in First Busey during the 1st quarter valued at about $115,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in First Busey in the first quarter valued at about $142,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,848 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.