BankUnited, Inc. (BKU) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.31 on April 30th

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 26th, RTT News reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of 0.31 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. This is a 6.9% increase from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29.

BankUnited has increased its dividend by an average of 8.0% per year over the last three years. BankUnited has a dividend payout ratio of 31.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect BankUnited to earn $3.41 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.0%.

BankUnited Stock Down 0.7 %

BKU stock opened at $35.20 on Friday. BankUnited has a 1-year low of $24.34 and a 1-year high of $44.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $37.80 and its 200 day moving average is $38.01. The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BKU shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Compass Point lifted their price objective on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.45.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In other news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at $430,955. This represents a 20.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti purchased 2,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.07 per share, for a total transaction of $64,140.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 20,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $666,478.74. This trade represents a 10.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.