Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Raises Stake in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 101,391 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,531 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned approximately 0.11% of First Busey worth $2,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 726.1% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 2,004 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in First Busey during the third quarter valued at $86,000. Argent Trust Co purchased a new position in First Busey during the third quarter valued at $200,000. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in First Busey by 8.0% in the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 8,745 shares of the bank’s stock worth $200,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of First Busey by 585.6% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,742 shares of the bank’s stock worth $223,000 after acquiring an additional 8,321 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $27.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Busey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Busey has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $27.00.

First Busey Trading Down 0.5%

First Busey stock opened at $25.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business’s fifty day moving average is $25.22 and its 200 day moving average is $24.27. First Busey Corporation has a one year low of $18.40 and a one year high of $27.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89 and a beta of 0.76.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $201.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $197.70 million. First Busey had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 9.46%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

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

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.