EJF Capital LLC Buys Shares of 201,168 First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• EJF Capital LLC has acquired a new position in First Busey Corporation, purchasing 201,168 shares valued at approximately $4.35 million, making it the 7th largest holding in EJF's portfolio.
• First Busey reported earnings of $0.63 EPS, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.61, along with a revenue of $192.05 million for the latest quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing a 4.1% dividend yield with a payout ratio of 89.29%.

EJF Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 201,168 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $4,345,000. First Busey comprises 2.8% of EJF Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. EJF Capital LLC owned 0.35% of First Busey at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in First Busey by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,069 shares of the bank's stock worth $455,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC increased its stake in First Busey by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 20,633 shares of the bank's stock worth $446,000 after purchasing an additional 538 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in First Busey by 56.4% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in First Busey by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,293 shares of the bank's stock worth $714,000 after purchasing an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Busey Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $24.68. The company had a trading volume of 373,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,584. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. First Busey Corporation has a 1-year low of $18.40 and a 1-year high of $28.30. The firm's 50 day moving average is $23.65 and its 200-day moving average is $22.51.

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

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 89.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In other news, CFO Scott A. Phillips acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $25.25 per share, for a total transaction of $25,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,250. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $58,125.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 83,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,956. This trade represents a 3.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. 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 research note on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.33.

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.