BankUnited Rewards Shareholders With a 6.1% Dividend Hike

BankUnited, Inc. BKU has increased its quarterly dividend to 33 cents per share, representing a 6.1% hike from the prior payout. The dividend will be paid out on April 30, 2026, to shareholders of record as of April 10.

Prior to this, the company had hiked its quarterly dividend by 6.8% to 31 cents per share on March 26, 2025. Over the past five years, BKU has increased its dividend five times and delivered a five-year annualized dividend growth rate of 7.41%. Currently, it maintains a payout ratio of 35%, reflecting its focus on consistent capital distribution to shareholders.

Based on Friday’s closing price of $44.51, BankUnited currently has a dividend yield of 2.79%, compared with the industry average of 2.92%.

BankUnited, Inc. Dividend Yield (TTM)

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Apart from paying dividends, BankUnited continues to reward shareholders with share repurchases. In January 2026, the company’s board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $200 million in shares, with no expiration date. This was followed by a prior authorization announced on July 22, 2025, under which about $50 million remained available as of Dec. 31, 2025.

While BankUnited is unlikely to undertake large-scale buybacks until there is greater economic stability, its earnings strength is expected to support consistent and efficient capital return to shareholders.

As of Dec. 31, 2025, BankUnited had total debt of $1.87 billion, significantly higher than its cash and cash equivalents balance of $217.8 million. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2025, its times interest of 3.4X improved sequentially and year over year.

Despite elevated debt levels, the company appears well-positioned to meet its near-term obligations, even if the economic situation worsens. This is expected to support continued dividend payments going forward.

BKU’s Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Over the past three months, shares of BankUnited fell 0.1% compared with 4.2% decline of the industry.

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Currently, BKU carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Similar Steps by Other Banks

This month, Independent Bank Corp.’s INDB board of directors announced a dividend of 64 cents per share. This reflected an 8.5% hike from the previous payout. The dividend will be paid out on April 9, 2026, to shareholders of record as of March 30.

INDB has increased its dividend payout five times in the past five years. It last increased the dividend by 3.5% to 59 cents per share in March 2025.

Last month, Capital City Bank Group, Inc. CCBG announced a quarterly cash dividend of 27 cents per share, indicating a 3.8% hike from the prior payout of 26 cents. The dividend was paid out on March 23, 2026, to its shareholders of record as of March 9.

In August 2025, CCBG raised its dividend by 8.3% to 26 cents per share. The company has increased its dividend payout nine times in the past five years.

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