Emerald Advisers LLC Takes $9.12 Million Position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 386,726 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $9,115,000. Emerald Advisers LLC owned about 0.68% of First Busey as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. Peregrine Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,498,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in First Busey by 65.8% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 292,056 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,883,000 after purchasing an additional 115,864 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 168.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 149,279 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,884,000 after buying an additional 93,733 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 81.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 135,069 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,516,000 after buying an additional 60,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 442.2% during the 4th quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 72,438 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,707,000 after buying an additional 59,077 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Price Performance

BUSE stock opened at $22.05 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.43 and a 200-day moving average of $24.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 0.84. First Busey Co. has a 12 month low of $21.21 and a 12 month high of $28.97.

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

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 24th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. This is a boost from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BUSE. Piper Sandler lowered 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. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 price objective (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $28.00.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In related news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw bought 1,700 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 482,143 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,462,503.10. The trade was a 0.35 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 7.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.