Legal & General Group Plc Takes Position in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 180,413 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,741,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in BankUnited during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 158.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $56.00 price target on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on BankUnited from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on BankUnited from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on BankUnited from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $51.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.90, for a total transaction of $143,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 42,472 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,034,408.80. This trade represents a 6.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $194,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 40,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,971,232.34. The trade was a 8.99% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Price Performance

BankUnited stock opened at $44.75 on Wednesday. BankUnited, Inc. has a 12-month low of $35.10 and a 12-month high of $52.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $47.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $46.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 1.17.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.03). BankUnited had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The firm had revenue of $284.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. BankUnited’s payout ratio is 36.16%.

BankUnited 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.