Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Stock Position in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,067,210 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 194,343 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.93% of First Busey worth $128,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BUSE. Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in First Busey in the 4th quarter worth about $2,905,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in First Busey by 36,664.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,131,973 shares of the bank’s stock worth $74,510,000 after buying an additional 3,123,454 shares in the last quarter. Sunesis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,732,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,743,000. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in shares of First Busey by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,384,661 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,941,000 after acquiring an additional 102,904 shares in the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Scott A. Phillips acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $129,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 8,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $216,265. This trade represents a 149.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Price Performance

BUSE stock opened at $29.75 on Tuesday. First Busey Corporation has a 1 year low of $21.63 and a 1 year high of $30.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.52 billion, a PE ratio of 13.22 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $28.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.67.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $197.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.15 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.19% and a net margin of 19.16%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Busey Corporation will post 2.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th will be issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BUSE shares. Zacks Research raised First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $29.75.

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.