Members Trust Co Invests $1.74 Million in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Members Trust Co acquired a new stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 75,000 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,736,000. Members Trust Co owned 0.08% of First Busey at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BUSE. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in First Busey by 94.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,135,906 shares of the bank’s stock worth $165,196,000 after purchasing an additional 3,464,965 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of First Busey by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,078,833 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,575,000 after purchasing an additional 33,430 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 3.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,073,087 shares of the bank’s stock worth $47,448,000 after purchasing an additional 74,997 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of First Busey by 2.2% in the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,337,957 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,619,000 after purchasing an additional 28,900 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of First Busey by 8.2% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,160,189 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,551,000 after buying an additional 87,524 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BUSE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Busey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler raised their price target on First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $27.00.

First Busey Stock Up 1.7%

BUSE opened at $25.11 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.47 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. First Busey Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $27.65. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.33.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.07. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 12.96%.The firm had revenue of $201.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.70 million. As a group, research analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 23rd. This is a positive change from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.62%.

First Busey Company 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.