Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Acquires New Shares in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 17,244 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 115.8% in the 1st quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 68,307 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 36,657 shares during the last quarter. CX Institutional bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter valued at about $257,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,281,000. UMB Bank n.a. bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,230,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of First Busey by 50.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 127,748 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,759,000 after purchasing an additional 42,751 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $23.96 on Friday. First Busey Corporation has a twelve month low of $18.40 and a twelve month high of $28.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39 and a beta of 0.77. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $22.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.55.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 8.32% and a return on equity of 8.46%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.17%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 93.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In related news, Director Steven W. Caple purchased 1,175 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.60 per share, with a total value of $25,380.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,394.40. This trade represents a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $22.00 per share, with a total value of $88,000.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 76,068 shares in the company, valued at $1,673,496. This represents a 5.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 13,125 shares of company stock valued at $286,148. 3.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on BUSE. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Hovde Group initiated coverage on First Busey in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Busey has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $27.67.

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.

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