Swiss National Bank Boosts Stake in 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 raised its stake in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 47.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,800 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 53,001 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.29% of First Busey worth $3,560,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BUSE. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 822.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 507.5% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 1,492 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 56.4% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 2,251 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 23.7% during 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 own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on BUSE shares. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased 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 report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, DA Davidson increased 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $27.17.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other news, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was bought 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,956. The trade was a 3.08% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 1,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,250. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 8,950 shares of company stock valued at $203,163. 3.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Busey Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE traded up $0.53 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $24.44. 564,631 shares of the company's stock traded hands, 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 one year low of $18.40 and a one year 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 stock's 50 day simple moving average is $23.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.51.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.02. The company 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, analysts predict that First Busey Corporation 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, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. First Busey's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.29%.

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.