BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Issues Earnings Results

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.19, Zacks reports. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 9.06%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share.

BankUnited Stock Performance

BankUnited stock opened at $39.59 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $39.96 and a 200-day moving average of $37.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. BankUnited has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $44.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.23 and a beta of 1.38.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. BankUnited’s payout ratio is 47.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In other news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total value of $102,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,410.66. The trade was a 6.72 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total transaction of $421,527.58. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,911,000. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on BKU. Compass Point boosted their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of BankUnited from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $38.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. 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 report on Friday, December 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.60.

About BankUnited

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.