Prudential Financial Inc. Boosts Stake in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 65,446 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,400 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.12% of First Busey worth $1,543,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in First Busey during the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,115,000. Peregrine Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey in the fourth quarter worth $5,498,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 65.8% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 292,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,883,000 after acquiring an additional 115,864 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 168.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 149,279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,884,000 after acquiring an additional 93,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its position in First Busey by 81.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,069 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,516,000 after purchasing an additional 60,506 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Busey Trading Down 2.7 %

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $19.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 0.75. 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 12 month low of $18.59 and a 12 month high of $28.97. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $23.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.45.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.52 by $0.01. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 17.14%. As a group, research analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a positive change from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on BUSE shares. 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. Raymond James lowered their price objective on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price target (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, February 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Busey has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 482,143 shares in the company, valued at $10,462,503.10. The trade was a 0.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.