FJ Capital Management LLC Takes $8.70 Million Position in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• FJ Capital Management LLC invested approximately $8.70 million in First Busey Corporation, acquiring 402,600 shares, constituting about 0.71% of the company's stock as per the SEC disclosure.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions in First Busey, with Quarry LP raising its stake by 507.5% in the fourth quarter, showcasing growing confidence in the bank's stock.
• First Busey recently reported an EPS of $0.63 for the past quarter, exceeding analyst expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, indicating a yield of 4.0%.

FJ Capital Management LLC bought a new position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 402,600 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $8,696,000. FJ Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.71% of First Busey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BUSE. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Busey by 52.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,706,925 shares of the bank's stock valued at $101,670,000 after buying an additional 1,613,848 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of First Busey by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,096,605 shares of the bank's stock valued at $110,086,000 after buying an additional 1,596,262 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $19,861,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of First Busey by 648.8% during the 1st quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 918,907 shares of the bank's stock valued at $19,848,000 after buying an additional 796,197 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $16,837,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.25 per share, with a total value of $25,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,250. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 2,500 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $58,125.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,942,956. The trade was a 3.08% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Busey Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:BUSE traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 373,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 441,584. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $23.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.52. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.04 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Busey Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.30.

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

First Busey Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. First Busey's payout ratio is 89.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on BUSE shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $28.00 target price (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Friday, August 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Busey presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.33.

First Busey Company 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.