Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stake in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 32.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 52,181 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 24,969 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in BankUnited were worth $2,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in BankUnited by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System increased its holdings 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 worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in BankUnited by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 17,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $767,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in BankUnited by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 21,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $832,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in BankUnited by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 23,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $909,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total transaction of $162,388.17. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 11,500 shares in the company, valued at $541,765. This represents a 23.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

BankUnited Price Performance

Shares of BankUnited stock opened at $46.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.19. BankUnited, Inc. has a one year low of $33.06 and a one year high of $52.11.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). BankUnited had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 9.11%. The firm had revenue of $273.69 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.77%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Hovde Group reduced their target price on BankUnited from $57.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Barclays dropped their price target on BankUnited from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded BankUnited from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.27.

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.