Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Grows Stock Position in First Busey Corporation $BUSE

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in First Busey Corporation (NASDAQ:BUSE) by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 101,391 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,531 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in First Busey were worth $2,347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas increased its holdings in First Busey by 4.6% during the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,965 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 572 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in shares of First Busey by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 13,237 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 640 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its stake in shares of First Busey by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 8,745 shares of the bank’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in First Busey by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 78,377 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,794,000 after purchasing an additional 1,098 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in First Busey by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 22,520 shares of the bank’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the period. 56.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Busey Price Performance

NASDAQ:BUSE opened at $25.66 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $25.22 and its 200 day moving average is $24.27. First Busey Corporation has a 12 month low of $18.40 and a 12 month high of $27.65. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.89 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

First Busey (NASDAQ:BUSE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $201.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $197.70 million. First Busey had a return on equity of 9.46% and a net margin of 12.96%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Busey Corporation will post 2.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Busey Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 23rd. This is a positive change from First Busey’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. First Busey’s payout ratio is currently 80.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BUSE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their price target on First Busey from $26.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $27.00 price target on shares of First Busey in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Busey from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $27.00.

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.