Rhumbline Advisers Raises Holdings in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Rhumbline Advisers lifted its holdings in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 84,997 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 1,081 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned 0.15% of First Busey worth $2,003,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Huntington National Bank purchased a new stake in First Busey in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in First Busey by 5.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 191,934 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,994,000 after purchasing an additional 9,782 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 145.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 28,954 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 17,155 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of First Busey in the third quarter valued at $348,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $224,000. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw bought 1,838 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $23.75 per share, for a total transaction of $43,652.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 437,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,390,173.75. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 7.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

First Busey Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of BUSE opened at $24.04 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. First Busey Co. has a 12 month low of $21.59 and a 12 month high of $28.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.87. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $23.78 and its 200-day moving average is $25.23.

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

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th were given a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.16%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on BUSE shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 price objective (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Monday, February 24th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.00.

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.