Empowered Funds LLC Has $6.69 Million Stock Position in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ: BUSE) by 53.4%, acquiring an additional 107,795 shares in the first quarter.
• First Busey announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $1.00 at a yield of 4.1%.
• First Busey reported a net margin of 9.48% and earnings per share of $0.63 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts’ estimates of $0.61.

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 53.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 309,540 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 107,795 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.54% of First Busey worth $6,686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BUSE. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in First Busey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew 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 acquiring an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in First Busey by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its position in First Busey by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,881 shares of the bank's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 1,073 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new stake in First Busey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $80,000. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Busey Stock Performance

First Busey stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.21. 178,268 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 516,346. First Busey Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $28.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.63 and a beta of 0.82. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $23.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.52.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 9.48%.The company had revenue of $192.05 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.91 million. 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 company 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 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. First Busey's payout ratio is currently 89.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Busey news, CFO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.25 per share, for a total transaction of $25,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1,000 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $24.60 per share, with a total value of $73,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 86,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,135,230.80. This represents a 3.58% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have bought 6,500 shares of company stock valued at $157,175. Corporate insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BUSE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Hovde Group initiated coverage on First Busey in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective (up from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Busey 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.