BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $508.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.84 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 8.06%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share.

BankUnited Stock Performance

NYSE BKU opened at $26.73 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $26.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.99. The stock has a market cap of $2.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.52 and a beta of 1.36. BankUnited has a fifty-two week low of $15.83 and a fifty-two week high of $34.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.88.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This is a boost from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. BankUnited’s payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BankUnited news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 2,285 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.18, for a total transaction of $62,106.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 11,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $319,365. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 347.0% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,000 after purchasing an additional 2,762 shares during the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the second quarter worth $200,000. Prelude Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the second quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 13.9% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $217,000 after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BKU. UBS Group downgraded shares of BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $29.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.50.

About BankUnited

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.