Trexquant Investment LP Reduces Stake in BankUnited, Inc. $BKU

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP reduced its stake in BankUnited, Inc. by 23.8% in Q1, now owning approximately $6.60 million worth of shares.
• BankUnited reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.91, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.79, along with revenues of $273.93 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%.

Trexquant Investment LP lessened its holdings in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) by 23.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 191,723 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 60,038 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.25% of BankUnited worth $6,603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 6.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,849,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $63,689,000 after purchasing an additional 107,962 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 3.8% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,461,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $50,332,000 after purchasing an additional 53,905 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 8.8% in the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,250,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,084,000 after purchasing an additional 101,170 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 893.2% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,150,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,002 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 36.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,059,697 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,496,000 after purchasing an additional 285,092 shares during the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU traded up $0.29 during trading on Thursday, hitting $39.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 119,684 shares, compared to its average volume of 804,945. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. BankUnited, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.21 and a twelve month high of $44.45. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $37.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.47 and a beta of 1.29.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.12. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 13.19%.The firm had revenue of $273.93 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 11th. BankUnited's payout ratio is presently 36.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price objective on BankUnited from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on BankUnited from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on BankUnited from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $39.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BankUnited currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.55.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In related news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total transaction of $152,989.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,193 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,521,080.33. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.79, for a total value of $135,765.00. Following the sale, the director owned 43,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,675,921.95. The trade was a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.