EMC Capital Management Cuts Stake in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE)

EMC Capital Management lessened its holdings in First Busey Co. (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 38.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,606 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,404 shares during the quarter. EMC Capital Management’s holdings in First Busey were worth $203,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of First Busey during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Huntington National Bank bought a new position in First Busey during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. CarsonAllaria Wealth Management Ltd. purchased a new position in First Busey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in First Busey in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $171,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in First Busey in the third quarter valued at approximately $224,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 56.49% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Trading Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $24.40 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $24.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.52. The stock has a market cap of $1.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. First Busey Co. has a 12 month low of $21.59 and a 12 month high of $28.97.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.01. First Busey had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. Equities analysts predict that First Busey Co. will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 24th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. This is a boost from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BUSE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $33.00 target price (down previously from $34.00) on shares of First Busey in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $28.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $29.00 price objective on shares of First Busey in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson cut their target price on First Busey from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $28.75.

First Busey Profile

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.