Empowered Funds LLC Cuts Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Empowered Funds LLC trimmed its position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 251,424 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 5,036 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $8,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BKU. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 8,117 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in BankUnited by 31.7% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in BankUnited by 4.6% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 209,343 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,210,000 after purchasing an additional 9,203 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in BankUnited during the first quarter valued at $1,443,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,250,997 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,084,000 after buying an additional 101,170 shares in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BankUnited Trading Up 2.2%

NYSE BKU opened at $39.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 1.34. BankUnited, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.21 and a 12 month high of $44.45. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $38.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $275.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $280.33 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is 34.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKU has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up previously from $41.00) on shares of BankUnited in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on BankUnited from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Barclays lifted their target price on BankUnited from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.91.

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.