Squarepoint Ops LLC Acquires New Holdings in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 53,001 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,213,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.06% of First Busey at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Busey by 52.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,706,925 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,670,000 after purchasing an additional 1,613,848 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in First Busey by 45.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,096,605 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $110,086,000 after buying an additional 1,596,262 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the first quarter worth $19,861,000. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey in the second quarter valued at $20,113,000. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 648.8% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 918,907 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,848,000 after acquiring an additional 796,197 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other First Busey news, CAO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,350 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $25.64 per share, with a total value of $34,614.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,254. This represents a 135.00% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Mike Maddox acquired 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $25.52 per share, with a total value of $25,520.00. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 40,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,027,945.60. This represents a 2.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $25.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $23.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.53. First Busey Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week high of $25.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 20th. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.05% and a net margin of 11.00%.The business had revenue of $63.34 million during the quarter. Analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 24th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 24th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is 86.96%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BUSE. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 target price (down previously from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.33.

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.