Strs Ohio Takes $460,000 Position in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in First Busey Corporation valued at approximately $460,000 during the first quarter, purchasing 21,300 shares.
• First Busey Corporation reported $0.63 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.61, with a revenue of $192.05 million.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, yielding 4.1%, with a payout ratio of 89.29%.

Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 21,300 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $460,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in First Busey during the first quarter worth $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Busey by 56.4% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,251 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Busey by 726.1% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 2,004 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in First Busey by 23.7% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,524 shares of the bank's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in First Busey by 59.3% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,881 shares of the bank's stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $24.55 on Tuesday. First Busey Corporation has a 52-week low of $18.40 and a 52-week high of $28.30. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.58. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92 and a beta of 0.82.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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%. On average, research analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. First Busey's payout ratio is currently 89.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BUSE. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced 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 report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price objective for the company. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.33.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other First Busey news, CFO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.25 per share, with a total value of $25,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,250. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $24.60 per share, for a total transaction of $73,800.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 86,798 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,135,230.80. This trade represents a 3.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 6,500 shares of company stock valued at $157,175. 3.85% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.

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