Denali Advisors LLC Has $1.94 Million Position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Denali Advisors LLC decreased its position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 14.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 89,750 shares of the bank's stock after selling 15,250 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC owned about 0.16% of First Busey worth $1,939,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 121.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 565,001 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,317,000 after buying an additional 309,301 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 59.3% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,881 shares of the bank's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the first quarter worth about $263,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the first quarter worth about $372,000. Finally, Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the first quarter worth about $1,081,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:BUSE traded up $0.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.44. The stock had a trading volume of 180,265 shares, compared to its average volume of 418,417. The business's 50 day moving average is $22.95 and its 200 day moving average is $22.55. First Busey Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.97. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.46% and a net margin of 8.32%. The company had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.15 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.09%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BUSE shares. Hovde Group started coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In related news, Director Steven W. Caple acquired 1,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.60 per share, with a total value of $25,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,509 shares in the company, valued at $97,394.40. The trade was a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $119,350.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 72,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,563,875.60. This trade represents a 8.26% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders purchased 13,125 shares of company stock valued at $286,148. 3.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.