First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Shares Gap Down to $23.27

First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $23.27, but opened at $21.94. First Busey shares last traded at $22.93, with a volume of 36,003 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $25.75.

First Busey Trading Down 0.1 %

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $108.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.74 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 18.08%. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Busey Co. will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.48%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

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 acquired at an average cost of $22.98 per share, with a total value of $45,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 47,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,093,503.30. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 29th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.40 per share, for a total transaction of $61,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 45,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,274. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $22.98 per share, for a total transaction of $45,960.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 47,585 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,093,503.30. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 4,817 shares of company stock valued at $114,780 and sold 6,900 shares valued at $157,182. 7.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Busey

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 30.3% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 99,397 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,390,000 after purchasing an additional 23,142 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC lifted its position in First Busey by 3,072.7% during the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 34,900 shares of the bank’s stock worth $839,000 after buying an additional 33,800 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the 4th quarter worth about $249,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,552,667 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,537,000 after acquiring an additional 57,392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of First Busey by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 69,264 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after acquiring an additional 9,789 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.