Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Purchases New Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,633 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $520,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BKU. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in BankUnited during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in BankUnited during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 202.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 814 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of BankUnited by 7,588.9% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,384 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of BankUnited by 4,293.5% in the third quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,362 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.83, for a total value of $174,703.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 35,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,778,283.21. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The stock was 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 approximately $957,358.08. The trade was a 20.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

BankUnited Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of BKU stock opened at $48.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.03. BankUnited, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.21 and a twelve month high of $52.11. 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 company has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.31.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 14.14%.The company had revenue of $288.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.76 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on BKU shares. Susquehanna upgraded shares of BankUnited to a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BankUnited from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Zacks Research raised BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on BankUnited from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One investment 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 given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.45.

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.