Kennedy Capital Management LLC Buys 43,015 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 257,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 43,015 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.34% of BankUnited worth $11,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKU. HoldCo Asset Management LP grew its position in BankUnited by 277.3% in the fourth quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 3,535,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,568,000 after acquiring an additional 2,598,382 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in BankUnited in the fourth quarter valued at $73,655,000. UBS Group AG grew its position in BankUnited by 398.0% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,170,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,164,000 after acquiring an additional 935,370 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in BankUnited by 23.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,070,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,183,000 after acquiring an additional 576,843 shares during the period. Finally, Jain Global LLC bought a new stake in BankUnited in the third quarter valued at $11,224,000. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKU has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on BankUnited from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded BankUnited from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research cut BankUnited from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded BankUnited from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.27.

BankUnited Price Performance

Shares of BKU stock opened at $48.92 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $46.70 and its 200-day moving average is $46.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a PE ratio of 13.63 and a beta of 1.17. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52 week low of $33.33 and a 52 week high of $52.11.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $273.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.57 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 14.46%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.78 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. BankUnited’s payout ratio is currently 36.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BankUnited news, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total transaction of $45,970.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $690,791.19. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About BankUnited

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.