31,650 Shares in First Busey Corporation $BUSE Purchased by SummerHaven Investment Management LLC

SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 31,650 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $922,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BUSE. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in First Busey by 61.4% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 881 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of First Busey during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Busey during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the third quarter worth approximately $70,000. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Busey Stock Up 0.6%

First Busey stock opened at $29.43 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $28.70. First Busey Corporation has a 52 week low of $22.12 and a 52 week high of $31.70.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $194.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.59 million. First Busey had a net margin of 21.00% and a return on equity of 10.48%. On average, analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered First Busey from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Busey from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Busey in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their price target on First Busey from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In related news, Director Michael Cassens sold 1,441 shares of First Busey stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.12, for a total value of $41,961.92. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 128,571 shares in the company, valued at $3,743,987.52. The trade was a 1.11% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 4,323 shares of company stock worth $130,627. Company insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Company Profile

First Busey Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. Its principal subsidiary, Busey Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses, institutions and municipalities.

Busey Bank offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, treasury management, trust services and other financial solutions. Through Busey Wealth Management, the company also provides investment management, financial planning, private banking and fiduciary services.