Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Invests $475,000 in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. has acquired a new position in First Busey Corporation, purchasing 22,000 shares valued at approximately $475,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the bank.
• Analyst ratings for First Busey show mixed reviews, with target price adjustments ranging from $23.00 to $30.00, resulting in a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• First Busey announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, which translates to an annualized yield of 4.1%, reflecting the company's commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. 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 22,000 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $475,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Signaturefd LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 483 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,069 shares of the bank's stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC raised its stake in First Busey by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Cresset Asset Management LLC now owns 20,633 shares of the bank's stock valued at $446,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in First Busey by 10.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position 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 buying an additional 812 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Busey news, CFO Scott A. Phillips bought 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired 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 of the company's stock, valued at $25,250. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $58,125.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 83,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,956. The trade was a 3.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

First Busey Stock Performance

Shares of BUSE traded up $0.01 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $24.70. The stock had a trading volume of 505,147 shares, compared to its average volume of 463,405. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $23.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.49. 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 Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $28.30.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $192.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.91 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 9.48%. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

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 4.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. First Busey's payout ratio is presently 89.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on BUSE shares. 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 reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Friday. Hovde Group began coverage on First Busey in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on 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, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.