King Luther Capital Management Corp Makes New Investment in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp purchased 708,361 shares of First Busey Corporation, amounting to approximately $15.3 million, raising its ownership to 1.24% as of its latest SEC filing.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 4.5% with a payout ratio of 89.29%.
• First Busey has received an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with a price target of $27.17, indicating expected growth potential for investors.

King Luther Capital Management Corp purchased a new position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 708,361 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $15,301,000. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned approximately 1.24% of First Busey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 121.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 565,001 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,317,000 after purchasing an additional 309,301 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 59.3% during the 1st quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,881 shares of the bank's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,073 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter valued at $263,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter valued at $372,000. Finally, Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter valued at $1,081,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $27.17.

First Busey Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:BUSE traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $23.27. 166,203 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 525,596. First Busey Corporation has a one year low of $18.40 and a one year high of $28.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business's 50 day moving average is $23.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78 and a beta of 0.81.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. First Busey had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 8.76%. The company had revenue of $192.05 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $193.91 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. First Busey's payout ratio is currently 89.29%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Steven W. Caple purchased 1,175 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $21.60 per share, for a total transaction of $25,380.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 4,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,394.40. This represents a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $119,350.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 72,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,563,875.60. This trade represents a 8.26% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 15,625 shares of company stock worth $344,273 in the last quarter. 3.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.