AXQ Capital LP Lowers Stake in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

AXQ Capital LP lessened its holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 7,831 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 16,694 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in BankUnited by 23.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in BankUnited by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in BankUnited by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in BankUnited by 1.8% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 21,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC raised its position in BankUnited by 1.8% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 23,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $909,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Stock Performance

NYSE BKU opened at $48.59 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $47.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 1.31. BankUnited, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.21 and a fifty-two week high of $52.11.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 14.14%.The business had revenue of $288.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.76 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. BankUnited’s payout ratio is 35.03%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of BankUnited from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Hovde Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price target on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on BankUnited from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on BankUnited from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.45.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In other news, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.88, for a total transaction of $254,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,816 shares in the company, valued at $957,358.08. This trade represents a 20.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.83, for a total transaction of $174,703.98. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 35,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,778,283.21. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

BankUnited 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.