BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC Takes Position in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

BTG Pactual Asset Management US LLC bought a new stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 16,689 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $492,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in First Busey during the second quarter worth $29,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 127.8% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,583 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BUSE. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Raymond James Financial raised their price target on shares of First Busey from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on First Busey from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research cut First Busey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.00.

First Busey Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $30.10 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $30.13 and its 200-day moving average is $27.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Busey Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.00 and a 52 week high of $31.70. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.44 and a beta of 0.72.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.06. First Busey had a net margin of 21.00% and a return on equity of 10.48%. The business had revenue of $194.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.59 million. Equities research analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 24th were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael David Cassens sold 1,441 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.08, for a total transaction of $44,786.28. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 131,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,559.24. This trade represents a 1.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Profile

First Busey (NASDAQ: BUSE) is a bank holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois, with roots tracing back to the founding of Busey Bank in 1868. As a regional financial institution, it offers a broad spectrum of banking services to individuals, small businesses, and corporations. Its core activities include commercial lending, deposit-taking, and cash management, which are tailored to meet the needs of local communities across its operating footprint.

In addition to traditional banking operations, First Busey provides wealth management and trust services through its subsidiary aimed at high-net-worth clients and fiduciary accounts.