Nuveen LLC Acquires New Shares in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired 779,470 shares of First Busey Corporation, valued at approximately $16.8 million, representing about 1.37% ownership as of their latest SEC filing.
• First Busey recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 4.3% and a payout ratio of 89.29%.
• The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, with a P/E ratio of 20.74, and analysts forecast an earnings per share of 2.61 for the current year.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 779,470 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $16,837,000. Nuveen LLC owned 1.37% of First Busey at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in First Busey by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in First Busey by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 21,069 shares of the bank's stock valued at $455,000 after buying an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in First Busey by 10.3% in the 4th quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 7,396 shares of the bank's stock valued at $174,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Busey by 56.4% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,251 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in First Busey by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 30,293 shares of the bank's stock valued at $714,000 after buying an additional 985 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BUSE. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Hovde Group began coverage on First Busey in a report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 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 report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler began coverage on First Busey in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $27.17.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of BUSE traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $24.44. 564,631 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 458,908. The company has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82 and a beta of 0.81. First Busey Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $23.37 and its 200 day moving average is $22.51.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $192.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.91 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 9.48%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is 89.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In related news, CFO Scott A. Phillips bought 1,000 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.25 per share, with a total value of $25,250.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $25,250. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 2,500 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $23.25 per share, for a total transaction of $58,125.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 83,568 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,942,956. This represents a 3.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have bought 8,950 shares of company stock worth $203,163. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.