LSV Asset Management Lowers Holdings in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

LSV Asset Management lowered its position in shares of First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 0.5% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,352,880 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,200 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in First Busey were worth $32,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BUSE. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 257.4% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,998 shares of the bank’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter worth about $115,000. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Busey during the 1st quarter worth about $142,000. Finally, EMC Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of First Busey by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 8,606 shares of the bank’s stock worth $207,000 after purchasing an additional 1,848 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Performance

First Busey stock opened at $25.75 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $26.03 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.06. First Busey Co. has a one year low of $17.51 and a one year high of $28.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.46 billion, a PE ratio of 13.01 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.01. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.10% and a net margin of 17.18%. The company had revenue of $116.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.65 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Busey Co. will post 2.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 19th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 19th. First Busey’s payout ratio is 48.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BUSE shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on First Busey from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com lowered First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First Busey from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $28.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Busey

In other First Busey news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $389,328.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,092,960.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Van A. Dukeman sold 16,539 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total transaction of $389,328.06. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 386,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,092,960.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Joseph Powers sold 6,090 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.54, for a total value of $143,358.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 89,511 shares in the company, valued at $2,107,088.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 264 shares of company stock valued at $5,319 and have sold 22,790 shares valued at $536,477. 7.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About First Busey

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.