Cozad Asset Management Inc. Trims Stake in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Cozad Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 28.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 247,069 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 99,668 shares during the quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.28% of First Busey worth $5,720,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BUSE. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new position in First Busey in the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,113,000. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 88.2% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 533,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,342,000 after buying an additional 249,908 shares in the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P acquired a new position in shares of First Busey in the second quarter valued at approximately $8,343,000. Bayview Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Busey by 173.9% during the second quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC now owns 64,385 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after buying an additional 40,876 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in First Busey by 99.2% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 933,467 shares of the bank’s stock worth $21,362,000 after acquiring an additional 464,859 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Busey Trading Up 0.4%

BUSE stock opened at $25.48 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.78. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $25.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $24.17. First Busey Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $27.65.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $201.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.70 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 12.96%. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Busey Corporation 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 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This is a positive change from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. First Busey’s payout ratio is 80.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BUSE. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target (down from $28.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Busey news, President Mike Maddox acquired 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.52 per share, for a total transaction of $25,520.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the president directly owned 40,280 shares in the company, valued at $1,027,945.60. This represents a 2.55% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 2,250 shares of company stock worth $57,165 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.85% of the company’s stock.

About First Busey

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.