Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Purchases New Shares in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust purchased a new position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 205,771 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,850,000. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust owned approximately 0.36% of First Busey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new stake in First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at $9,115,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the fourth quarter worth about $5,498,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in First Busey by 39.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 671,402 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,825,000 after buying an additional 189,115 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 65.8% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 292,056 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,883,000 after purchasing an additional 115,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its position in shares of First Busey by 194.5% in the fourth quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 170,695 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,023,000 after acquiring an additional 112,743 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw bought 1,838 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $43,652.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 437,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,390,173.75. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 7.10% of the company's stock.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $21.69. 393,474 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 344,240. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $21.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.67. The company has a market cap of $1.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. First Busey Co. has a 1-year low of $18.40 and a 1-year high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $140.15 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BUSE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of First Busey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James lowered their target price on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.80.

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.