Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 694,444 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,083 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.22% of First Busey worth $18,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in First Busey in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Huntington National Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Busey in the third quarter worth about $38,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. acquired a new position in First Busey during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in First Busey by 257.4% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,998 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Busey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $224,000. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Busey Price Performance

BUSE stock opened at $26.93 on Friday. First Busey Co. has a 52-week low of $21.68 and a 52-week high of $28.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $1.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.88 and a beta of 0.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $25.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.28.

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

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 49.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BUSE. Stephens cut First Busey from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $27.00 in a report on Monday, October 14th. DA Davidson upped their target price on First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $29.25.

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.