Corebridge Financial Inc. Purchases 14,457 Shares of First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Corebridge Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 54.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,950 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,457 shares during the period. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned about 0.07% of First Busey worth $885,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of First Busey by 54.4% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 50,269 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 17,717 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in First Busey by 47.2% during the first quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 45,790 shares of the bank’s stock worth $989,000 after purchasing an additional 14,686 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First Busey by 648.8% during the first quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 918,907 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,848,000 after purchasing an additional 796,197 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in First Busey by 63.7% during the first quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 17,671 shares of the bank’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 6,878 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its stake in First Busey by 3,068.6% during the first quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 11,312 shares of the bank’s stock worth $244,000 after purchasing an additional 10,955 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Busey Price Performance

First Busey stock opened at $24.68 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market cap of $2.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04 and a beta of 0.82. The business’s fifty day moving average is $23.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.52. First Busey Corporation has a 52 week low of $18.40 and a 52 week high of $28.30.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $192.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $193.91 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 8.76% and a net margin of 9.48%. Equities research analysts forecast that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. First Busey’s payout ratio is currently 89.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Karen M. Jensen purchased 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.25 per share, with a total value of $58,125.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,568 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,942,956. This trade represents a 3.08% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Scott A. Phillips purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $25.25 per share, with a total value of $25,250.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,250. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.85% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on BUSE shares. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $28.00 price target (up previously from $27.00) on shares of First Busey in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on First Busey in a research note on Tuesday, July 1st. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $30.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price target on First Busey from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on First Busey from $30.00 to $29.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Busey from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.33.

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.