Denali Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Denali Advisors LLC cut its position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 14.5% during the first 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 0.16% of First Busey worth $1,939,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 23.7% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in First Busey by 2.6% in the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,069 shares of the bank's stock valued at $455,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in First Busey by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 7,396 shares of the bank's stock valued at $174,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in First Busey by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,293 shares of the bank's stock valued at $714,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 111,799 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,635,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of BUSE traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.58. The company had a trading volume of 246,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 421,051. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $23.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.57. First Busey Corporation has a 1-year low of $18.40 and a 1-year high of $28.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04 and a beta of 0.77.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. First Busey had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.46%. The business had revenue of $192.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.91 million. Analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BUSE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler began 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 on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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 stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $21.60 per share, for a total transaction of $25,380.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 4,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,394.40. The trade was a 35.24% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.00 per share, with a total value of $88,000.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 76,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,496. This represents a 5.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 13,125 shares of company stock valued at $286,148 in the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

First Busey 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.