Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. Grows Position in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)

Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) by 133.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 73,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,000 shares during the quarter. BankUnited makes up approximately 0.8% of Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest position. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc.’s holdings in BankUnited were worth $2,805,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in BankUnited by 9.2% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 426 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in BankUnited by 182.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in BankUnited by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,332 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $547,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in BankUnited by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 103,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in BankUnited by 87.8% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKU opened at $40.12 on Thursday. BankUnited, Inc. has a 1-year low of $24.34 and a 1-year high of $44.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.24. The company has a market capitalization of $3.00 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 1.37.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 11.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. BankUnited’s payout ratio is presently 37.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on BKU. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Compass Point raised their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.40.

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.