Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 49,443 Shares of BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 39.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 77,150 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 49,443 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in BankUnited were worth $2,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in BankUnited in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in BankUnited in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in shares of BankUnited by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in BankUnited by 7,588.9% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of BankUnited by 141.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 898 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of BankUnited stock opened at $50.63 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.43. BankUnited, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.21 and a 12-month high of $52.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. BankUnited had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The firm had revenue of $288.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BankUnited news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider owned 35,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,778,283.21. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKU has been the subject of several research reports. Susquehanna raised shares of BankUnited to a “positive” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of BankUnited from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.45.

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.