First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Given Overweight Rating at Stephens

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reiterated by analysts at Stephens in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $28.00 price target on the bank's stock. Stephens' price target indicates a potential upside of 21.11% from the company's current price.

Separately, StockNews.com cut First Busey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Busey has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $25.75.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $23.12. The company had a trading volume of 261,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 162,114. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. First Busey has a one year low of $16.26 and a one year high of $25.80. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.85. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $23.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.64.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.03. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.38% and a net margin of 20.37%. The company had revenue of $108.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $107.74 million. On average, research analysts predict that First Busey will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.02, for a total transaction of $52,946.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 141,278 shares in the company, valued at $3,252,219.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $22.98 per share, with a total value of $45,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 47,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,093,503.30. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.02, for a total value of $52,946.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 141,278 shares in the company, valued at $3,252,219.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 4,917 shares of company stock worth $117,215 and have sold 6,900 shares worth $157,182. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in First Busey by 1,143.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,057 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 972 shares during the period. Everhart Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in First Busey in the third quarter valued at approximately $218,000. Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Busey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $238,000. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in First Busey in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $249,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in First Busey by 40.6% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,819 shares of the bank's stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 4,566 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.