Renaissance Technologies LLC Decreases Holdings in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its position in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 9.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 374,800 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 37,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in First Busey were worth $9,471,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of First Busey during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Litman Gregory Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Busey in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of First Busey by 127.8% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,583 shares of the bank’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 888 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in First Busey during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in First Busey by 726.1% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,280 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 2,004 shares during the last quarter. 56.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on BUSE. DA Davidson increased their price target on First Busey from $30.00 to $31.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Raymond James Financial increased their price objective on shares of First Busey from $28.00 to $32.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Busey from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Zacks Research raised shares of First Busey from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of First Busey from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.00.

First Busey Price Performance

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $30.86 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $28.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.86. First Busey Corporation has a 1-year low of $21.63 and a 1-year high of $31.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 0.72.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The bank reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $194.27 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.59 million. First Busey had a net margin of 21.00% and a return on equity of 10.42%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that First Busey Corporation will post 2.67 EPS for the current year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 24th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 24th. First Busey’s payout ratio is 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.