Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 2,000 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 2.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of BankUnited worth $3,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,821,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,696,000 after purchasing an additional 322,368 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,163 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $579,000 after purchasing an additional 593 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth approximately $766,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 362,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,836,000 after purchasing an additional 10,064 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth approximately $380,000. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Trading Down 3.0%

BankUnited stock opened at $33.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 1.30. BankUnited, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $26.88 and a fifty-two week high of $44.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $33.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $36.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.86.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. BankUnited had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. The firm had revenue of $255.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $264.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 11th were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 11th. This is a positive change from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.68%. BankUnited’s payout ratio is 38.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BankUnited news, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.43, for a total transaction of $34,430.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,516 shares in the company, valued at $499,785.88. This represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Leslie Lunak sold 22,776 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $764,362.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 59,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,010,210.44. The trade was a 27.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut shares of BankUnited from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of BankUnited from $50.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of BankUnited from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BankUnited from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $40.42.

BankUnited Profile

BankUnited, Inc operates as the bank holding company for BankUnited, a national banking association that provides a range of banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, money market deposit, and savings accounts; certificates of deposit; and treasury, commercial payment, and cash management services.