Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Sells 47,765 Shares of First Busey Corporation $BUSE

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. lessened its position in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 65.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund 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.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in First Busey by 121.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 565,001 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,317,000 after buying an additional 309,301 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in First Busey by 59.3% in the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,881 shares of the bank's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in First Busey in the first quarter worth $263,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in First Busey in the first quarter worth $372,000. Finally, Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in First Busey in the first quarter worth $1,081,000. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE opened at $23.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.71 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.54. 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.

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 firm had revenue of $192.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.91 million. First Busey had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 8.76%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.29%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $119,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 72,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,563,875.60. This trade represents a 8.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Steven W. Caple purchased 1,175 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.60 per share, for a total transaction of $25,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,394.40. This represents a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 15,625 shares of company stock valued at $344,273 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BUSE shares. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of 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 started coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.17.

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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