Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Takes Position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 26,540 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $626,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of First Busey by 1,173.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in First Busey in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Busey by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,492 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. DA Davidson reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $33.00 price target (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Busey from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $27.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,838 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.75 per share, with a total value of $43,652.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 437,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,390,173.75. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

First Busey Stock Performance

BUSE stock opened at $21.81 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $21.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.07 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. First Busey Co. has a 1 year low of $18.40 and a 1 year high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $140.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. On average, research analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey's payout ratio is currently 93.46%.

First Busey 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.

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