Bayview Asset Management LLC Makes New Investment in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• Bayview Asset Management LLC purchased 23,509 shares of First Busey Corporation ($BUSE) for approximately $508,000, making it the firm's 16th largest position, and other institutional investors have also increased their stakes significantly this quarter.
• In a recent insider transaction, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 4,000 shares at $22.00 each, increasing her ownership of the stock by 5.55%.
• First Busey's stock was reported at $24.65, with a 4.1% annualized dividend yield and recent earnings per share of $0.63, surpassing estimates.

Bayview Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 23,509 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $508,000. First Busey comprises about 0.2% of Bayview Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 52.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,706,925 shares of the bank's stock valued at $101,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613,848 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 45.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,096,605 shares of the bank's stock worth $110,086,000 after acquiring an additional 1,596,262 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Busey in the 1st quarter worth about $19,861,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 648.8% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 918,907 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,848,000 after purchasing an additional 796,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Busey in the first quarter worth approximately $16,837,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.36. The company had a trading volume of 229,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 520,804. First Busey Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $28.30. The business's 50-day moving average is $23.54 and its 200-day moving average is $22.49. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.77 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $192.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.91 million. First Busey had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 8.76%. Equities analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BUSE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Scott A. Phillips acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.25 per share, with a total value of $25,250.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,250. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $58,125.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,956. This trade represents a 3.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.