Stifel Financial Corp Trims Holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Stifel Financial Corp trimmed its stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 51,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 2,223 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $1,881,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 34,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 303 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System increased its position in BankUnited by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,821 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $609,000 after buying an additional 379 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 48,005 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 17.4% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in BankUnited by 2.2% in the second quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 37,600 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised BankUnited from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $38.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wedbush boosted their target price on BankUnited from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $37.00 price target on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BankUnited currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.36.

BankUnited Stock Up 1.8 %

BKU opened at $38.10 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50-day moving average is $39.09 and its 200 day moving average is $35.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. BankUnited, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $24.34 and a fifty-two week high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 9.06%. The firm had revenue of $515.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $258.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. Research analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 11th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total transaction of $421,527.58. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,911,000. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total value of $102,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,428,410.66. This represents a 6.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited 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.