First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) Short Interest Update

05 Mar 2026, 06:42 by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets Daily

First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE – Get Free Report) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,074,813 shares, a growth of 28.8% from the January 29th total of 1,610,775 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 755,772 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Based on an average trading volume of 755,772 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Institutional Trading of First Busey

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in First Busey by 95.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,143 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 8,884 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 16.8% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 198,945 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,297,000 after acquiring an additional 28,605 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 64.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 49,724 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,074,000 after acquiring an additional 19,431 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Busey by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 469,310 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,137,000 after purchasing an additional 38,773 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of First Busey by 78.4% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 222,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,796,000 after purchasing an additional 97,560 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE opened at $25.66 on Thursday. First Busey has a 1-year low of $18.40 and a 1-year high of $27.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $25.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.07. First Busey had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 9.46%. The business had revenue of $201.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.70 million. Equities research analysts expect that First Busey will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a $0.26 dividend. This is an increase from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BUSE. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded First Busey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on BUSE

First Busey Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

First Busey (NASDAQ: BUSE) is a bank holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, with roots tracing back to the founding of Busey Bank in 1868. As a regional financial institution, it offers a broad spectrum of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Its core activities include commercial lending, deposit-taking, and cash management, which are tailored to meet the needs of local communities across its operating footprint.