BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Reaches New 1-Year High Following Earnings Beat

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $50.32 and last traded at $50.1550, with a volume of 300539 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.39.

The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $288.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.76 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 13.98% and a return on equity of 9.18%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. BankUnited’s payout ratio is presently 34.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $42.00 price target on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Hovde Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 price target on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on BankUnited from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, BankUnited presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKU. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,596,455 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $175,400,000 after buying an additional 51,926 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 23.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,070,822 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $117,183,000 after acquiring an additional 576,843 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in BankUnited by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,163,936 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $82,576,000 after purchasing an additional 185,937 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in BankUnited by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,776,183 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,223,000 after purchasing an additional 13,555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 1,535,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $58,586,000 after purchasing an additional 265,439 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BankUnited Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.75 billion, a PE ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $44.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.33.

BankUnited Company Profile

BankUnited, Inc is a bank holding company based in Miami Lakes, Florida, operating through its subsidiary BankUnited, National Association. The company provides a broad range of commercial banking products and services, including deposit accounts, commercial lending and treasury management. It serves middle-market and small-business clients, offering tailored financing solutions across a variety of industry sectors.

The bank’s lending portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans and construction financing, as well as residential mortgage lending.