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

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,470,000 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the March 15th total of 3,280,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 896,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.9 days. Currently, 4.7% of the company’s shares are sold short.

BankUnited Stock Up 2.9 %

BankUnited stock opened at $25.18 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. BankUnited has a fifty-two week low of $15.83 and a fifty-two week high of $34.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $26.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.97. The company has a market capitalization of $1.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.58 and a beta of 1.36.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by ($0.42). BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.38% and a net margin of 9.19%. The company had revenue of $500.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $244.11 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.82 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that BankUnited will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 11th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.74%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 2,285 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.18, for a total value of $62,106.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at $319,365. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKU. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,202,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $298,442,000 after buying an additional 332,567 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in BankUnited by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,828,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $231,967,000 after purchasing an additional 306,521 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in BankUnited by 4.7% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,684,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $249,898,000 after purchasing an additional 252,653 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in BankUnited by 4.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,887,447 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $170,895,000 after purchasing an additional 177,718 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LSV Asset Management boosted its position in BankUnited by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 2,427,027 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $78,708,000 after purchasing an additional 80,577 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays initiated coverage on BankUnited in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $29.00 price objective for the company. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of BankUnited from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group cut shares of BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $29.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $30.44.

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.