BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

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

BankUnited Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of BKU opened at $25.89 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $26.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.96. The stock has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 1.36. BankUnited has a 12 month low of $15.83 and a 12 month high of $34.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. This is a boost from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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 dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.18, for a total transaction of $62,106.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at $319,365. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in BankUnited by 347.0% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,762 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in BankUnited by 7.6% in the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 80,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,547,000 after acquiring an additional 5,716 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in BankUnited by 2.9% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 18,775 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $826,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in BankUnited by 14.7% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 33,882 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,489,000 after acquiring an additional 4,348 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in BankUnited by 46.8% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 44,612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,961,000 after acquiring an additional 14,213 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKU has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their price target on BankUnited from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Barclays initiated coverage on BankUnited in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. UBS Group downgraded 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. Wedbush decreased their price objective on BankUnited from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Finally, StockNews.com cut BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $30.50.

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.