BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.19 EPS

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping 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

Shares of BKU stock opened at $40.07 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. BankUnited has a one year low of $24.34 and a one year high of $44.45. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.42 and a beta of 1.38.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.54%.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In other BankUnited news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,428,410.66. This trade represents a 6.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total value of $421,527.58. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,911,000. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded BankUnited from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $38.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Compass Point increased their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BankUnited currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.60.

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.