First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,650,000 shares, a growth of 10.7% from the June 30th total of 1,490,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 197,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.4 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP John Joseph Powers sold 6,090 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,107,088.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other First Busey news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the company’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,277 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,092,960.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Joseph Powers sold 6,090 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 $143,358.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,107,088.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders purchased 264 shares of company stock valued at $5,319 and sold 25,090 shares valued at $591,240. Insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Busey

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of First Busey by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,278,444 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $81,372,000 after purchasing an additional 55,224 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Busey by 0.9% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,886,341 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,475,000 after acquiring an additional 26,829 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,552,667 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,537,000 after acquiring an additional 57,392 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in First Busey by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,359,080 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,686,000 after acquiring an additional 72,800 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in First Busey by 22.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,159,907 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,895,000 after purchasing an additional 212,782 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Busey Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $27.44. 246,761 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 182,844. First Busey has a 12 month low of $17.51 and a 12 month high of $28.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.55.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BUSE. StockNews.com raised shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $31.00 price objective (up from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.25.

First Busey Company Profile

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.