First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Position Increased by SummerHaven Investment Management LLC

SummerHaven Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 115.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,307 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 36,657 shares during the period. First Busey comprises about 1.0% of SummerHaven Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC owned about 0.12% of First Busey worth $1,475,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BUSE. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its stake in First Busey by 10.3% in the fourth 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. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 985 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 111,799 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 84,997 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Busey Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of First Busey stock traded down $0.49 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $22.30. 601,993 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 383,446. First Busey Co. has a 52-week low of $18.40 and a 52-week high of $28.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $21.50 and a 200-day moving average of $22.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. The company had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.15 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 93.46%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Steven W. Caple bought 1,175 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $21.60 per share, with a total value of $25,380.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $97,394.40. This represents a 35.24% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen acquired 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $22.00 per share, for a total transaction of $88,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 76,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,673,496. This trade represents a 5.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 13,125 shares of company stock valued at $286,148. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Raymond James lowered their target price on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Busey has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $27.80.

About First Busey

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.