Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Buys Shares of 64,600 First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec acquired a new stake in First Busey Corporation, purchasing 64,600 shares valued at approximately $1,395,000, representing 0.11% of the company.
• First Busey's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $0.63, exceeding expectations, and the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, yielding 4.0% annually.
• Multiple analysts have recently upgraded their ratings on First Busey, with a consensus price target of $27.33, indicating a favorable outlook for the stock.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec bought a new position in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 64,600 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,395,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.11% of First Busey as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 507.5% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,492 shares during the period. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in First Busey by 56.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,251 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings 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. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,881 shares of the bank's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Busey Price Performance

NASDAQ:BUSE traded up $0.21 on Thursday, hitting $24.63. The company had a trading volume of 92,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 519,738. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.95 and a beta of 0.82. First Busey Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $28.30. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid 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 of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. First Busey's payout ratio is currently 89.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on BUSE shares. DA Davidson lifted 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. Hovde Group assumed coverage on First Busey in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 target price (up from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Friday, August 29th. 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Scott A. Phillips bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $25.25 per share, with a total value of $25,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $25,250. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $58,125.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,568 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,956. This represents a 3.08% 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 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.