AlphaQuest LLC Raises Holdings in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its stake in First Busey Corporation by 3,068.6% in the first quarter, owning a total of 11,312 shares valued at $244,000.
• Insider transactions include Director Karen M. Jensen purchasing 2,500 shares and CFO Scott A. Phillips acquiring 1,000 shares, reflecting confidence in the company’s prospects.
• First Busey Corporation declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing a yield of 4.0% and an annualized dividend of $1.00.

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its position in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 3,068.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,312 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 10,955 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in First Busey were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in First Busey by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in First Busey by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,069 shares of the bank's stock worth $455,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares during the period. Cresset Asset Management LLC lifted its position in First Busey by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 20,633 shares of the bank's stock worth $446,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 56.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,251 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,293 shares of the bank's stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 985 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on BUSE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler began coverage on First Busey in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Friday, August 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Busey has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $58,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 83,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,942,956. This trade represents a 3.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $25.25 per share, with a total value of $25,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Busey Price Performance

NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $24.43. The company's stock had a trading volume of 163,169 shares, compared to its average volume of 520,599. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.81 and a beta of 0.82. First Busey Corporation has a 1-year low of $18.40 and a 1-year high of $28.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.51.

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

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 is 89.29%.

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.