BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) saw a large drop in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,271,437 shares, a drop of 17.0% from the December 15th total of 2,738,293 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 655,933 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Based on an average daily volume of 655,933 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKU. Capital Fund Management S.A. purchased a new stake in BankUnited during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,356,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 24.7% in the second quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 575,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,495,000 after acquiring an additional 113,974 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the third quarter worth $6,121,000. Bayview Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 45.5% in the second quarter. Bayview Asset Management LLC now owns 40,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,424,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 25.0% in the second quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 105,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,737,000 after acquiring an additional 21,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BKU. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday, December 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Hovde Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of BankUnited in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial started coverage on BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $51.00 price target for the company. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $46.00.

BankUnited Stock Down 1.5%

BKU stock opened at $46.39 on Wednesday. BankUnited has a one year low of $28.21 and a one year high of $47.15. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.30. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $44.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.11. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 13.98%.The company had revenue of $275.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $280.33 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The business 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 yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. BankUnited’s payout ratio is 34.93%.

About BankUnited

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.