35,019 First Busey Corporation $BUSE Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its First Busey stake by 37.1%, purchasing 35,019 shares to own 129,483 shares valued at approximately $3.77 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively hold 56.49% of BUSE shares.
• First Busey reported quarterly EPS of $0.69, exceeding analysts’ $0.63 estimate, while revenue of $194.27 million fell slightly short of expectations. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, representing a 3.5% yield.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with three Buy ratings and four Hold ratings; the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $31.00 versus its recent price near $29.90.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 37.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 129,483 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 35,019 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned about 0.16% of First Busey worth $3,772,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in First Busey by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,067,210 shares of the bank's stock worth $128,046,000 after acquiring an additional 194,343 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 2nd quarter worth $32,712,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 101.3% in the first quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 492,113 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,436,000 after acquiring an additional 247,589 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 16.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 475,547 shares of the bank's stock valued at $12,017,000 after acquiring an additional 65,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 13.6% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 301,323 shares of the bank's stock valued at $7,614,000 after acquiring an additional 36,140 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of BUSE opened at $29.90 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.36 and a beta of 0.75. First Busey Corporation has a 52-week low of $22.12 and a 52-week high of $31.70.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.06. First Busey had a net margin of 21.00% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The firm had revenue of $194.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $197.59 million. Equities research analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. First Busey's payout ratio is 42.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BUSE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered shares of First Busey from an "overweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Busey in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of First Busey from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research lowered First Busey from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In related news, Director Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.12, for a total transaction of $41,961.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 128,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,743,987.52. The trade was a 1.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,323 shares of company stock valued at $130,627. Corporate insiders own 3.77% of the company's stock.

First Busey Profile

First Busey Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. Through its banking and wealth management businesses, the company serves individuals, families, businesses and institutions with a range of financial products and services.

Its principal banking subsidiary, Busey Bank, provides consumer and commercial checking and savings accounts, loans, mortgages, treasury management and other deposit and lending services. First Busey also offers investment management, trust, retirement planning, financial planning and brokerage services through its wealth management operations.

First Busey traces its banking roots to 1868 and primarily serves customers in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Florida, with additional markets following its combination with CrossFirst Bankshares.

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