Two Sigma Advisers LP Purchases 45,400 Shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) by 65.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 114,808 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 45,400 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.20% of First Busey worth $2,706,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,500,343 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,503,000 after purchasing an additional 110,895 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in First Busey by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,122,896 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,467,000 after acquiring an additional 58,982 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 707,323 shares of the bank's stock valued at $16,672,000 after purchasing an additional 12,879 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of First Busey by 39.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 671,402 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,825,000 after purchasing an additional 189,115 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 642,397 shares of the bank's stock worth $15,141,000 after purchasing an additional 36,531 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company's stock.

First Busey Stock Down 0.3%

BUSE traded down $0.07 on Friday, reaching $22.18. 605,826 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 366,764. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $21.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. First Busey Co. has a 52-week low of $18.40 and a 52-week high of $28.97. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 0.75.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Busey Co. 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, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. First Busey's payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

Insider Activity

In other First Busey news, Director Steven W. Caple acquired 1,175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $21.60 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 35.24% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $119,350.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 72,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,563,875.60. This trade represents a 8.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 10,375 shares of company stock worth $225,250. Company insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reduced their price objective on First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $27.80.

First Busey Company 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.