First Busey Corporation $BUSE Position Trimmed by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. reduced its stake in First Busey Corporation by 65.9%, selling 47,765 shares, leaving them with 24,673 shares valued at approximately $533,000.
• First Busey recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $1.00 and a yield of 4.3%.
• Following its latest earnings report, First Busey posted an EPS of $0.63, which surpassed analysts’ expectations of $0.61, despite revenue falling short at $192.05 million against a projected $193.91 million.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 65.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 24,673 shares of the bank's stock after selling 47,765 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s holdings in First Busey were worth $533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in First Busey by 23.7% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in First Busey by 2.6% in the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,069 shares of the bank's stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in First Busey by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 7,396 shares of the bank's stock valued at $174,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in First Busey by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,293 shares of the bank's stock valued at $714,000 after acquiring an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.17.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $58,125.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 83,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,942,956. This trade represents a 3.08% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.25 per share, for a total transaction of $25,250.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $25,250. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have purchased 8,950 shares of company stock worth $203,163. Company insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

First Busey Stock Performance

First Busey stock traded up $0.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $24.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 812,021 shares, compared to its average volume of 456,273. The firm has a market cap of $2.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.58 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.52. 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 Corporation has a twelve month low of $18.40 and a twelve month high of $28.30.

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

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. 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 payout ratio is currently 89.29%.

First Busey Company 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.