Marina113/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The last 12 months have been a good time to be a BankUnited ( BKU ) shareholder. The stock from the Florida-based regional bank holding company is up 32% in the last year, benefiting from both its own improved financial condition as well as a healthy business environment in its home state. That return looks even better when compared to the State Street S...
Marina113/iStock Editorial via Getty Images The last 12 months have been a good time to be a BankUnited ( BKU ) shareholder. The stock from the Florida-based regional bank holding company is up 32% in the last year, benefiting from both its own improved financial condition as well as a healthy business environment in its home state. That return looks even better when compared to the State Street SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF ( KRE ) which has not even reached half of that total during the same time. Based largely on its strong recent momentum, BKU has a Strong Buy quant rating on Seeking Alpha. Seeking Alpha Even with its gains over the last year, BankUnited has experienced a slight pullback in its value in the last six weeks. Concerns about inflation and higher long-term rates have given investors a reason to reassess their expectations for the first half of this year. Not all companies in this sector are equal, even if the market has been treating them this way, so I have used this time to look at some new ideas in the sector, like BankUnited, that I have not researched in the past. My time reading through BKU's operating results from the last couple of years leads me to believe that the bank is in a decent financial position. However, I am not sure that future returns from the company in the near term are worth the risks of buying a new position in its stock. Below-average profitability metrics, heavy geographical concentration in one state, and some heavy insider selling were key reasons behind my decision of a Hold rating for the company leading up to its Q1 2026 earnings announcement, which is due in less than three weeks. Company Profile With a market cap of $3.35 billion, BankUnited is a mid-cap bank holding company that operates approximately 50 banking locations in its home state of Florida. It also has four branches and two lending centers in New York and an additional branch and lending center in the Dallas metropolitan area. The South Florida Business J...
格隆汇4月4日｜4月1-3日，第十四届储能国际峰会暨展览会（ESIE 2026）在北京举办。亿纬锂能全球首发Mr.Big Family 系列产品——6.9MWh储能大电池系统，进一步完善大容量储能产品布局。展会现场，亿纬锂能分别与金风零碳、晶科储能、林洋能源、中能建储能科技、融和元储等5家行业头部企业集中签署战略合作协议，聚焦储能大电池及核心产品深化合作，累计签约规模超50GWh。
格隆汇4月4日｜4月1-3日，第十四届储能国际峰会暨展览会（ESIE 2026）在北京举办。亿纬锂能全球首发Mr.Big Family 系列产品——6.9MWh储能大电池系统，进一步完善大容量储能产品布局。展会现场，亿纬锂能分别与金风零碳、晶科储能、林洋能源、中能建储能科技、融和元储等5家行业头部企业集中签署战略合作协议，聚焦储能大电池及核心产品深化合作，累计签约规模超50GWh。
Navy's Top Officer Admits Ford Carrier Fire Halted Its Combat Sorties For Two Days More details continue to belatedly come out in piecemeal fashion related to the Navy's largest and most expensive supercarrier, the USS Gerald R Ford. It has withdrawn from the Iran theatre of operations and Mideast regional waters, now anchored in Croatia (Split) for largescale emergency repairs, after a March 12 f...
Navy's Top Officer Admits Ford Carrier Fire Halted Its Combat Sorties For Two Days More details continue to belatedly come out in piecemeal fashion related to the Navy's largest and most expensive supercarrier, the USS Gerald R Ford. It has withdrawn from the Iran theatre of operations and Mideast regional waters, now anchored in Croatia (Split) for largescale emergency repairs, after a March 12 fire which the Pentagon has said was non-combat related left some sailors with minor injuries. New information has been disclosed by no less than the US Navy's top officer. He has described in fresh remarks that the USS Ford was unable to fly sorties for two days due to (the alleged) laundry fire , which took over a full day to extinguish . US Navy/AFP/Getty Images CNN has underscored that this marks the "first indication that the blaze hindered combat operations against Iran . " So the incident has been confirmed to have resulted in a complete halt to two days of combat operations against Iran - which is hugely significant given that only two carriers were launching operations at that time (the other was the USS Lincoln). And now the USS George HW Bush is en route across the Atlantic in a scheduled deployment. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle, addressed the Washington-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Tuesday. While praising the crew's response to the fire, he stated the following : "They fought that, put it out, and started flying sorties two days after that, so I’m very proud of that crew," he said. Caudle described that they ended up battling the blaze - and cleaned up the water damage and fire-fighting substances, for a total of 30 hours . He also confirmed prior reports of some 600 sailors being displaced from their sleeping quarters due to the damage. As for the precise cause of the blaze, the last official word was a March 28 statement from 6th Fleet saying, "military and federal civilian law enforcement continue...
The US president seems to have turned his attention to Cuba in recent weeks, saying that it was 'next'. Officials from both countries have reportedly been in negotiations since February however the content of the discussions remains unclear. The Guardian spoke with professor emeritus of international relations Dr Philip Brenner about what the US might really want with the Island Continue reading.....
The US president seems to have turned his attention to Cuba in recent weeks, saying that it was 'next'. Officials from both countries have reportedly been in negotiations since February however the content of the discussions remains unclear. The Guardian spoke with professor emeritus of international relations Dr Philip Brenner about what the US might really want with the Island Continue reading...
Intel Corp reportedly intends to invest an additional $15 million in SambaNova. Intel Expands SambaNova Investment, Boosts Ownership Stake The move that would raise its ownership to about 9%, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing corporate records. The chipmaker had already invested $35 million in February 2026, increasing its stake to 8.2% from 6.8% a year earlier. The companies also announced a ...
Intel Corp reportedly intends to invest an additional $15 million in SambaNova. Intel Expands SambaNova Investment, Boosts Ownership Stake The move that would raise its ownership to about 9%, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing corporate records. The chipmaker had already invested $35 million in February 2026, increasing its stake to 8.2% from 6.8% a year earlier. The companies also announced a strategic collaboration earlier this year. SambaNova develops chips tailored for powering generative
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images As a quality-oriented investor, I’m a fan of companies with consistent track records of dividend growth. In an era of rapid market shifts and high-interest rates, the Dividend Champions offer some intriguing options, in my opinion. These are publicly traded companies with at least 25 years of payout raises to their credit. Within this elite group of div...
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images As a quality-oriented investor, I’m a fan of companies with consistent track records of dividend growth. In an era of rapid market shifts and high-interest rates, the Dividend Champions offer some intriguing options, in my opinion. These are publicly traded companies with at least 25 years of payout raises to their credit. Within this elite group of dividend payers, regulated water utilities have carved out a unique niche. They tend to offer a mix of high barriers to entry (it’s very expensive to build out an extensive infrastructure network), reliable demand for utility services, and predictable regulatory frameworks. That leads me into my focus for today, which is Essential Utilities ( WTRG ). When I last covered WTRG with a Buy rating in January , I covered it from the angle of what it would look like if its pending merger with American Water Works ( AWK ) closed. I was encouraged by an improvement in the EPS growth profile from 5% to 7% independently to 7% to 9% in such a case. A one-notch improvement in the S&P credit rating to A was another positive. In closing, both regulated water utilities were undervalued. A couple of months later, I’m going to lean more toward the deal not being completed; the odds are probably two or three to one that it will be cleared. One big step in this direction was that in February , 99% of AWK’s shares voted to approve the deal, and 95% of WTRG’s voted in support of it. It still must win over state regulators, so it’s not a done deal yet. On its own, WTRG is poised to keep generating 5% to 7% annual adjusted EPS growth. The company’s A- S&P credit rating keeps its cost of capital low. That allows it to bridge the capex that’s not covered by operating cash flow and gives it the capital needed for accretive bolt-on acquisitions. Clinching my continued Buy rating, shares are still priced at a double-digit percentage discount to my fair value estimate. Steady Business Growth Ahead Essentia...
RichLegg/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Earlier today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the monthly jobs report for March . Following a decline in nonfarm payrolls in February, investors were nervous if a negative trend was in the works. The March report surprised many with non-farm payrolls increasing by 178,000 and the unemployment rate ticking down to 4.3%. While the February jobs ...
RichLegg/iStock via Getty Images Introduction Earlier today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the monthly jobs report for March . Following a decline in nonfarm payrolls in February, investors were nervous if a negative trend was in the works. The March report surprised many with non-farm payrolls increasing by 178,000 and the unemployment rate ticking down to 4.3%. While the February jobs number was revised lower, the March report gives investors reassurance that the labor market is not falling off a cliff and that the Fed is still incentivized to hold its one projected rate cut for the year. Bureau of Labor Statistics Leading Indicators, A Look at What Caused February’s Drop Earlier this week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics also released the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report. This report is a month behind the labor market report but provides details regarding the flow of jobs within the labor market for the month of February. The JOLTS report showed seven consecutive months of job openings being less than the number of unemployed, hinting at slack in the labor market, although the trend is choppy. Bureau of Labor Statistics Examining the data by industry requires investors to look at the non-seasonally adjusted data. Here, it’s a real mixed bag with manufacturing, trade/transportation/utilities, professional and business services, and other services supporting the job openings data. The sectors showing the greatest amount of weakness were information, construction, government, mining, education/health services, and leisure and hospitality. Bureau of Labor Statistics Digging deeper into the flows reveals the true cause of the big drop in February: employers simply did not hire. Hiring plummeted to well below the five-year average from 2013-2018 in the month of February and was approximately 1 million jobs lower than the 2019 average. Fortunately, separations also continued their downward trend and are sitting at the 2013-2018 average, whi...
NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / April 4, 2026 / International businessman Ugur Akkus, Chairman of A&S Investment Holding, has announced the acquisition of a Boeing 737-based Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), valued at approximately $75 million, positioning ...
NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / April 4, 2026 / International businessman Ugur Akkus, Chairman of A&S Investment Holding, has announced the acquisition of a Boeing 737-based Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), valued at approximately $75 million, positioning ...