Mendon Capital Advisors Corp Invests $7.74 Million in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• Mendon Capital Advisors Corp has acquired a new stake in First Busey Corporation, investing approximately $7.74 million to purchase 358,192 shares, making it the firm's 8th largest position.
• First Busey recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, yielding 4.0% annually, with a dividend payout ratio of 89.29%.
• Several institutional investors have increased their holdings in First Busey, with 56.49% of the stock now owned by institutional investors, reflecting heightened investor interest.

Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 358,192 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $7,737,000. First Busey comprises 3.8% of Mendon Capital Advisors Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp owned 0.40% of First Busey at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in First Busey by 45.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,096,605 shares of the bank's stock valued at $110,086,000 after purchasing an additional 1,596,262 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in First Busey by 52.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,706,925 shares of the bank's stock valued at $101,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613,848 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in First Busey by 54.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,731,366 shares of the bank's stock valued at $37,398,000 after purchasing an additional 608,470 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in First Busey by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,309,057 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,276,000 after purchasing an additional 93,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in First Busey by 32.6% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 937,591 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,252,000 after purchasing an additional 230,268 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $58,125.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 83,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,956. This trade represents a 3.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $25.25 per share, with a total value of $25,250.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $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 owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $28.00 target price (up from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of First Busey in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.33.

First Busey Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE traded down $0.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $24.38. The company had a trading volume of 174,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 516,917. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $23.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.51. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76 and a beta of 0.82. First Busey Corporation has a 52-week low of $18.40 and a 52-week high of $28.30.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $192.05 million for 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

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

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.