BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Short Interest Up 5.8% in March

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,470,000 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the March 15th total of 3,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 896,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Approximately 4.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 2,285 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now owns 11,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $319,365. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

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

BankUnited Trading Up 2.8 %

BKU stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $25.17. The stock had a trading volume of 596,453 shares, compared to its average volume of 885,190. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28 and a beta of 1.36. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $26.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.98. BankUnited has a 1-year low of $15.83 and a 1-year high of $34.22.

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

BankUnited Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BKU. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BankUnited from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on BankUnited in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on BankUnited from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on BankUnited from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $29.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.44.

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.