BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $508.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.84 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 9.19%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 EPS.

BankUnited Stock Performance

BankUnited stock opened at $25.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.96. BankUnited has a 52-week low of $15.83 and a 52-week high of $34.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.36.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.74%.

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 transaction of $62,106.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at $319,365. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased 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 valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased 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 valued at $157,000 after buying an additional 2,762 shares in the last quarter. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new stake in BankUnited in the second quarter worth about $200,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in BankUnited by 102.6% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,807 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $255,000 after purchasing an additional 2,941 shares during the period. Finally, Prelude Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in BankUnited in the second quarter worth about $211,000. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on BKU shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on BankUnited from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wedbush lowered their price target on BankUnited from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com downgraded BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on BankUnited from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on BankUnited from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.