Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases New Stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired 26,922 shares of First Busey Corporation worth approximately $582,000 during the first quarter, indicating strong institutional interest in the bank's stock.
• Insider buying has increased, with Director Karen M. Jensen purchasing 5,500 shares which raises her ownership stake by 8.26%, reflecting confidence in the company's performance.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for First Busey, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $27.17, signaling potential for future growth despite a recent decline in stock price.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 26,922 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $582,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in First Busey by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,500,343 shares of the bank's stock valued at $82,503,000 after buying an additional 110,895 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 5.5% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,122,896 shares of the bank's stock valued at $26,467,000 after purchasing an additional 58,982 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings 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 valued at $15,825,000 after purchasing an additional 189,115 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 642,397 shares of the bank's stock valued at $15,141,000 after purchasing an additional 36,531 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 121.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 565,001 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,317,000 after purchasing an additional 309,301 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Steven W. Caple acquired 1,175 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.60 per share, for a total transaction of $25,380.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $97,394.40. This represents a 35.24% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 5,500 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $119,350.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 72,068 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,563,875.60. This represents a 8.26% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 15,625 shares of company stock worth $344,273. Corporate insiders own 3.85% of the company's stock.

First Busey Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of First Busey stock traded down $0.31 during trading on Thursday, reaching $22.31. 60,818 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 527,523. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. First Busey Corporation has a 1-year low of $18.40 and a 1-year high of $28.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $23.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.90 and a beta of 0.77.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last released its 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. First Busey had a net margin of 9.48% and a return on equity of 9.76%. The company had revenue of $192.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $193.91 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued 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 4.48%. First Busey's payout ratio is 89.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BUSE. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "overweight" rating and a $30.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial boosted their target price on shares of First Busey from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Four 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, First Busey has an average rating of "Hold" 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.