First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Stock Rating Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Busey in a report on Friday, August 7th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of First Busey from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $35.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial lowered shares of First Busey from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.00.

First Busey Stock Performance

BUSE opened at $28.81 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $29.86 and its 200 day moving average is $27.90. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.75. First Busey has a 12-month low of $22.12 and a 12-month high of $31.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by ($0.04). First Busey had a net margin of 21.13% and a return on equity of 10.29%. The business had revenue of $194.25 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.77 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Busey will post 2.65 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Friday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.45%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.12, for a total value of $41,961.92. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 128,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,743,987.52. The trade was a 1.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 4,323 shares of company stock valued at $130,627. 3.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BUSE. Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 61.4% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 881 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 6.8% in the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,972 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $265,000 after purchasing an additional 571 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in First Busey by 3.7% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 20,335 shares of the bank’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in First Busey in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in First Busey by 13.1% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,373 shares of the bank’s stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Busey Company Profile

First Busey Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. Through its banking and wealth management businesses, the company serves individuals, families, businesses and institutions with a range of financial products and services.

Its principal banking subsidiary, Busey Bank, provides consumer and commercial checking and savings accounts, loans, mortgages, treasury management and other deposit and lending services. First Busey also offers investment management, trust, retirement planning, financial planning and brokerage services through its wealth management operations.

First Busey traces its banking roots to 1868 and primarily serves customers in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Florida, with additional markets following its combination with CrossFirst Bankshares.