Inspire Investing LLC Grows Stock Position in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 11.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,158 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,136 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $397,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BKU. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 46.1% during the 1st quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 20,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $721,000 after buying an additional 6,600 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 1st quarter valued at about $585,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 58.2% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 4,002 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 42,423 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,461,000 after purchasing an additional 1,821 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 20.6% in the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 31,614 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 5,395 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Trading Up 2.4%

BKU stock opened at $38.59 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $2.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.27. The business’s 50-day moving average is $38.22 and its 200 day moving average is $35.86. BankUnited, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.21 and a 12-month high of $44.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $273.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.17 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 13.19%.During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 10th will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is 36.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BKU. Citigroup lifted their price target on BankUnited from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Barclays lifted their price target on BankUnited from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up previously from $41.00) on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $44.00 price target for the company. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their price target on BankUnited from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.79, for a total value of $135,765.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 43,205 shares in the company, valued at $1,675,921.95. This represents a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total value of $152,989.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,521,080.33. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BankUnited Company 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.