First Busey Corporation $BUSE Position Raised by LSV Asset Management

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management boosted its stake in First Busey by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, buying 102,904 shares and ending with 1.38 million shares valued at about $32.9 million.
• Analysts remain mixed but generally positive on the stock: the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $27.50, while recent updates included higher targets from Piper Sandler and Stephens.
• First Busey reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $0.67 topping estimates and revenue essentially in line, and it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.26 per share, implying a 3.8% annualized yield.

LSV Asset Management increased its position in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 8.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,384,661 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 102,904 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned 1.57% of First Busey worth $32,941,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC grew its position in First Busey by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC now owns 36,803 shares of the bank's stock worth $876,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in First Busey by 5.1% in the second quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,237 shares of the bank's stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 640 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in First Busey by 0.7% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 91,585 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,120,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in First Busey by 127.8% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,583 shares of the bank's stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its position in First Busey by 6.2% in the third quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 17,043 shares of the bank's stock worth $394,000 after buying an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on BUSE shares. DA Davidson restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Busey from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on shares of First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Busey has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Scott A. Phillips bought 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.90 per share, with a total value of $129,500.00. Following the purchase, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $216,265. This represents a 149.25% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.77% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $27.08 on Monday. First Busey Corporation has a twelve month low of $21.41 and a twelve month high of $27.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.72. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $25.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.09.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $197.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 10.19%. Equities analysts anticipate that First Busey Corporation will post 2.57 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 24th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.22%.

First Busey Company Profile

First Busey NASDAQ: BUSE is a bank holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, with roots tracing back to the founding of Busey Bank in 1868. As a regional financial institution, it offers a broad spectrum of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Its core activities include commercial lending, deposit-taking, and cash management, which are tailored to meet the needs of local communities across its operating footprint.

In addition to traditional banking operations, First Busey provides wealth management and trust services through its subsidiary aimed at high-net-worth clients and fiduciary accounts.

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