Empowered Funds LLC Raises Stock Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 6.3% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 318,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,724 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $14,363,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKU. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in BankUnited during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in BankUnited during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 158.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 141.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BankUnited news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 4,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $194,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 40,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,971,232.34. The trade was a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total value of $45,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 15,027 shares in the company, valued at $690,791.19. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BKU shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on BankUnited from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of BankUnited from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of BankUnited from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on BankUnited from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

BankUnited Stock Performance

Shares of BKU stock opened at $46.01 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.17. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $52.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.71 and its 200 day moving average is $47.07.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $284.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $290.33 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 14.76%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be given a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. BankUnited’s payout ratio is presently 36.16%.

BankUnited Company Profile

BankUnited, Inc is a bank holding company based in Miami Lakes, Florida, operating through its subsidiary BankUnited, National Association. The company provides a broad range of commercial banking products and services, including deposit accounts, commercial lending and treasury management. It serves middle-market and small-business clients, offering tailored financing solutions across a variety of industry sectors.

The bank’s lending portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans and construction financing, as well as residential mortgage lending.