First Busey Corporation $BUSE Shares Sold by Vestor Capital LLC

Vestor Capital LLC cut its stake in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 88.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,375 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 18,808 shares during the quarter. Vestor Capital LLC’s holdings in First Busey were worth $60,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BUSE. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of First Busey by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 169,641 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,287,000 after acquiring an additional 45,793 shares in the last quarter. Amundi acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 1st quarter worth approximately $611,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in First Busey by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 95,005 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 11,029 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in First Busey by 13.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 8,373 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $212,000 after purchasing an additional 971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhino Investment Partners Inc raised its holdings in First Busey by 101.3% during the first quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc now owns 492,113 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,436,000 after purchasing an additional 247,589 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Raymond James Financial lifted 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. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Busey currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Scott A. Phillips bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $25.90 per share, for a total transaction of $129,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief accounting officer owned 8,350 shares in the company, valued at $216,265. This trade represents a 149.25% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.77% of the company’s stock.

First Busey Stock Performance

NASDAQ BUSE opened at $30.86 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $28.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $26.84. First Busey Corporation has a twelve month low of $21.63 and a twelve month high of $31.43. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $194.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $197.59 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 21.00%. On average, research analysts predict that First Busey Corporation will post 2.67 earnings per share for the current year.

First Busey Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 24th were given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. First Busey’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.98%.

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.