StockNews.com Downgrades First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) to Sell

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

First Busey Trading Up 1.7 %

BUSE opened at $23.27 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.61. First Busey has a one year low of $16.26 and a one year high of $25.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.29 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72 and a beta of 0.85.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.14 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Busey news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.36, for a total transaction of $51,428.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 139,804 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,017.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 2,500 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $24.40 per share, for a total transaction of $61,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 45,585 shares in the company, valued at $1,112,274. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael David Cassens sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.36, for a total value of $51,428.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 139,804 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,017.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 4,917 shares of company stock worth $117,215 and have sold 6,900 shares worth $157,182. 7.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BUSE. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey in the third quarter valued at $369,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in First Busey by 4.1% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 32,280 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $620,000 after buying an additional 1,279 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in First Busey by 1.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 385,328 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,406,000 after buying an additional 5,025 shares during the last quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in First Busey in the third quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings 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 last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently 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.