First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Separately, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $28.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $25.75.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $22.56 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.71. The company has a market cap of $1.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.85. First Busey has a 12 month low of $16.26 and a 12 month high of $25.80.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 141,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,252,219.56. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was acquired at an average price of $22.98 per share, with a total value of $45,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 47,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,093,503.30. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 shares were sold at an average price of $23.02, for a total transaction of $52,946.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 141,278 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,252,219.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 2,317 shares of company stock worth $53,780 and sold 6,900 shares worth $157,182. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its holdings in First Busey by 35.3% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 39,888 shares of the bank’s stock worth $959,000 after acquiring an additional 10,401 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of First Busey by 30.3% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Busey by 3,072.7% in the 1st quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 34,900 shares of the bank’s stock worth $839,000 after purchasing an additional 33,800 shares in the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at about $249,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in First Busey by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,552,667 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $38,537,000 after purchasing an additional 57,392 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

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.