Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Acquires 68,321 Shares of First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in First Busey Corporation by 52.2%, owning approximately 199,267 shares valued at $4.3 million.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets for First Busey, with consensus rating remaining at "Hold" and an average target price of $27.17.
• First Busey recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 4.3%.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 52.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 199,267 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 68,321 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.35% of First Busey worth $4,304,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in First Busey by 822.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in First Busey by 507.5% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Busey during the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in First Busey by 56.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,251 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in First Busey by 23.7% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BUSE shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 target price for the company. Hovde Group started coverage on First Busey in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson increased their price target on First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Busey news, CFO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.25 per share, for a total transaction of $25,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,250. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $22.00 per share, for a total transaction of $88,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 76,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,496. This trade represents a 5.55% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 8,950 shares of company stock worth $203,163 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

First Busey Stock Up 4.2%

Shares of BUSE stock traded up $0.98 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $24.17. The company had a trading volume of 812,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 456,273. First Busey Corporation has a 12 month low of $18.40 and a 12 month 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.52. The company has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 0.81.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.91 million. On average, research analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

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