SummerHaven Investment Management LLC Grows Stake in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 69,002 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 695 shares during the quarter. First Busey accounts for about 1.0% of SummerHaven Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC’s holdings in First Busey were worth $1,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Amalgamated Bank grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 59.3% during the first quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,881 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 1,073 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the first quarter valued at approximately $263,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the first quarter valued at approximately $372,000. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,081,000. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the first quarter valued at approximately $675,000. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NASDAQ BUSE opened at $24.00 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $23.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.65. First Busey Corporation has a 52-week low of $18.40 and a 52-week high of $28.30.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $192.05 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.91 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 9.48%. Sell-side analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.2%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BUSE shares. Hovde Group started coverage on First Busey in a research note on Monday, June 30th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price target on First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $28.00 price target (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Friday, August 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on First Busey in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Scott A. Phillips bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.25 per share, for a total transaction of $25,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,250. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Karen M. Jensen bought 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $24.60 per share, with a total value of $73,800.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 86,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,135,230.80. This trade represents a 3.58% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 6,500 shares of company stock valued at $157,175. 3.85% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

First Busey 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.