Horizon Investments LLC Buys New Shares in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Horizon Investments LLC bought a new stake in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 41,970 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,858,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 1.8% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 21,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $832,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 1.8% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 23,826 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $909,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in BankUnited by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 19,550 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $746,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKU has been the topic of several analyst reports. Hovde Group cut their price target on BankUnited from $57.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on BankUnited from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Citigroup cut their price target on BankUnited from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on BankUnited from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised BankUnited from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.27.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total value of $162,388.17. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,765. This trade represents a 23.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.88, for a total transaction of $254,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,816 shares in the company, valued at $957,358.08. This represents a 20.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Trading Up 2.6%

BKU stock opened at $47.36 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $45.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. BankUnited, Inc. has a 52-week low of $32.97 and a 52-week high of $52.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 1.19.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 14.46%.The firm had revenue of $273.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $284.57 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 10th. This is an increase from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.77%.

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.