Short Interest in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Expands By 69.2%

Key Points

• The short interest in First Busey Corporation surged by 69.2% in September, reaching a total of 2,030,000 shares as of September 30th.
• Insiders have shown confidence in the company by purchasing a total of 6,500 shares valued at $157,175 over the last 90 days, indicating a positive outlook.
• First Busey has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, with an annualized yield of 4.3%, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,030,000 shares, an increase of 69.2% from the September 15th total of 1,200,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 509,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Based on an average daily volume of 509,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other news, CFO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.25 per share, for a total transaction of $25,250.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $25,250. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $24.60 per share, with a total value of $73,800.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 86,798 shares in the company, valued at $2,135,230.80. This represents a 3.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 6,500 shares of company stock valued at $157,175. Company insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BUSE. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,881 shares of the bank's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter worth $263,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter worth $372,000. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter worth $1,081,000. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter worth $675,000. 56.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BUSE shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $28.00 price target (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $27.33.

First Busey Price Performance

BUSE opened at $23.29 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $23.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.80. First Busey has a 1 year low of $18.40 and a 1 year high of $28.30.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 20th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $63.34 million for the quarter. First Busey had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 8.76%. As a group, analysts anticipate that First Busey will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 24th. First Busey's payout ratio is currently 89.29%.

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.

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