EP Wealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in First Busey Corporation, purchasing 11,375 shares valued at approximately $246,000.
• Insider transactions include Director Karen M. Jensen buying 2,500 shares, and CFO Scott A. Phillips acquiring 1,000 shares of the bank's stock recently.
• Equities research analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for First Busey, with an average price target of $27.33.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 11,375 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 642,397 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,141,000 after buying an additional 36,531 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 103,131 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,431,000 after buying an additional 1,243 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 96.3% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 207,956 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,902,000 after buying an additional 102,029 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 49,910 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,176,000 after buying an additional 6,364 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 45,976 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,084,000 after buying an additional 16,954 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 2,500 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 83,568 shares in the company, valued at $1,942,956. The trade was a 3.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.25 per share, for a total transaction of $25,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,250. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 price target (up from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.33.

First Busey Stock Down 0.1%

BUSE traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $24.61. 421,503 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 428,668. The company has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $23.73 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.52. 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 one year low of $18.40 and a one year high of $28.30.

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 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 net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 8.76%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

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

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.