30,599 Shares in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) Purchased by Squarepoint Ops LLC

Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 30,599 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $721,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned approximately 0.05% of First Busey as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in First Busey by 1,173.5% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,439 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,326 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in First Busey in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in First Busey by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,697 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,492 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $26.00 target price on shares of First Busey in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James dropped their target price on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Busey currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.80.

Insider Activity at First Busey

In other First Busey news, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 5,500 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $21.70 per share, with a total value of $119,350.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 72,068 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,563,875.60. The trade was a 8.26% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Stanley J. Bradshaw acquired 1,700 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $21.70 per share, for a total transaction of $36,890.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 482,143 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,462,503.10. The trade was a 0.35% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 14,375 shares of company stock valued at $313,250. 3.85% of the stock is owned by insiders.

First Busey Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $21.97 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $21.16 and a 200-day moving average of $23.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. First Busey Co. has a 12 month low of $18.40 and a 12 month high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $140.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.15 million. First Busey had a net margin of 17.14% and a return on equity of 8.94%. On average, equities research analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 25th. Investors of record on Friday, April 18th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.55%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 93.46%.

About First Busey

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.