GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes $821,000 Position in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 34,515 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $821,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mirabella Financial Services LLP raised its stake in shares of First Busey by 23.2% in the third quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP now owns 1,082,338 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,056,000 after acquiring an additional 203,464 shares during the period. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. bought a new position in shares of First Busey in the third quarter worth about $9,607,000. Members Trust Co bought a new position in shares of First Busey in the third quarter worth about $1,736,000. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Busey in the fourth quarter worth about $2,905,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 88.2% in the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 533,142 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,342,000 after purchasing an additional 249,908 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of First Busey stock opened at $27.08 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. First Busey Corporation has a 1 year low of $21.41 and a 1 year high of $27.65. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $25.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.07. The stock has a market cap of $2.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.72.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.10. First Busey had a net margin of 19.16% and a return on equity of 10.19%. The company had revenue of $197.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.15 million. As a group, research analysts expect that First Busey Corporation will post 2.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 24th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 24th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 46.22%.

Insider Transactions at First Busey

In other First Busey news, CAO Scott A. Phillips bought 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 4th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $129,500.00. Following the acquisition, the chief accounting officer directly owned 8,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $216,265. The trade was a 149.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 3.77% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BUSE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of First Busey from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of First Busey from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.50.

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.