BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

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

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU opened at $25.89 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. The company has a market cap of $1.94 billion, a price-to-earnings 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.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. 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%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on BKU. StockNews.com downgraded BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on BankUnited from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wedbush decreased their target price on BankUnited from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. UBS Group downgraded 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. Finally, Barclays started coverage on BankUnited in a report on Friday, March 8th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BankUnited news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 2,285 shares of the 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 $319,365. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKU. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 1.1% in the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 48,210 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,039,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $826,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 775 shares during the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 11,891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 9.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 14,719 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $503,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

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.