BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,470,000 shares, an increase of 5.8% from the March 15th total of 3,280,000 shares. Currently, 4.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 896,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.9 days.

Insider Activity

In other BankUnited news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 2,285 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.18, for a total value of $62,106.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,365. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKU. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of BankUnited by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the fourth quarter worth about $147,000. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 347.0% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in BankUnited in the second quarter worth $200,000. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKU shares. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of BankUnited from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Barclays began coverage on shares of BankUnited in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $29.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lowered BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $29.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Citigroup decreased their price target on BankUnited from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, BankUnited has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.44.

BankUnited Stock Performance

BankUnited stock opened at $25.18 on Thursday. BankUnited has a twelve month low of $15.83 and a twelve month high of $34.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 1.36. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $26.79 and its 200 day moving average is $26.97. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.42). The business had revenue of $500.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $244.11 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 9.19%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.82 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that BankUnited will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.74%.

BankUnited Company 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.