Short Interest in BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Drops By 8.6%

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, a decrease of 8.6% from the October 31st total of 2,430,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 819,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In related news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total transaction of $421,527.58. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total transaction of $102,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,428,410.66. The trade was a 6.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 307.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,928 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,455 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in BankUnited during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in BankUnited during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $169,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in BankUnited by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management acquired a new stake in BankUnited during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $175,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BKU shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of BankUnited from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $38.70.

BankUnited Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:BKU traded down $0.41 on Tuesday, reaching $41.13. The stock had a trading volume of 578,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 813,471. The company has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $37.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.69. BankUnited has a 12-month low of $24.34 and a 12-month high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $515.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.65 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 8.09%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Equities analysts expect that BankUnited will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 11th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.54%.

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.