First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Shares Acquired by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 145.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 28,954 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,155 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned 0.05% of First Busey worth $754,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 48,247 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after acquiring an additional 2,079 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey in the second quarter worth about $216,000. Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 23.9% in the second quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 22,602 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 4,354 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Busey by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 411,749 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,968,000 after buying an additional 6,658 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in First Busey during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of First Busey stock opened at $26.77 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. First Busey Co. has a 12-month low of $21.68 and a 12-month high of $28.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $25.74 and its 200-day moving average is $25.23.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $170.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $118.32 million. First Busey had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.55 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.59%. First Busey’s payout ratio is 49.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BUSE. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. StockNews.com raised First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Stephens downgraded First Busey from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $28.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Busey from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

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.