Swiss National Bank Acquires 53,001 Shares of First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank increased its stake in First Busey Corporation by 47.4%, acquiring an additional 53,001 shares, bringing its total to 164,800 shares valued at approximately $3.56 million.
• Analysts maintain a Moderate Buy rating for First Busey, with a consensus price target of $27.17, following various updates and ratings from firms like Raymond James and Stephens.
• First Busey announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 4.3%, with a reported payout ratio of 89.29%.

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 47.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 164,800 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 53,001 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.29% of First Busey worth $3,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First Busey by 822.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 507.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in First Busey during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in First Busey by 56.4% during the 1st 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. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Stock Performance

BUSE stock traded down $0.18 on Monday, reaching $23.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 102,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 521,982. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $23.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $22.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 0.81. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $192.05 million during 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%. As a group, analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.2%. First Busey's dividend payout ratio is presently 89.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips bought 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $25.25 per share, with a total value of $25,250.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,250. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought 8,950 shares of company stock valued at $203,163 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on BUSE. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Hovde Group started coverage on First Busey in a research report on Monday, June 30th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler began coverage on First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.17.

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.