Deutsche Bank AG Boosts Stake in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 58.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,976 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,954 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.08% of First Busey worth $1,084,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in First Busey by 1,173.5% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 1,326 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 822.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,707 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of First Busey by 507.5% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,786 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,492 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Busey Price Performance

BUSE stock opened at $21.61 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 0.75. First Busey Co. has a 1 year low of $18.40 and a 1 year high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.04. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The firm had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.15 million. Analysts anticipate that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 18th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 93.46%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BUSE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $33.00 target price (down from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.80.

Insider Activity

In other First Busey news, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 482,143 shares in the company, valued at $10,462,503.10. The trade was a 0.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 7.10% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Company 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.