Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) vs. BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Head to Head Comparison

Fifth Third Bancorp (NASDAQ:FITB) and BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

83.8% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.7% of BankUnited shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.5% of Fifth Third Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of BankUnited shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Fifth Third Bancorp and BankUnited”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Fifth Third Bancorp	$13.28 billion	2.20	$2.31 billion	$3.15	13.89
BankUnited	$1.03 billion	2.76	$232.47 million	$3.22	11.72

Fifth Third Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than BankUnited. BankUnited is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Fifth Third Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Fifth Third Bancorp has a beta of 0.91, suggesting that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BankUnited has a beta of 1.29, suggesting that its stock price is 29% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Fifth Third Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. BankUnited pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Fifth Third Bancorp pays out 47.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. BankUnited pays out 38.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Fifth Third Bancorp has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years and BankUnited has increased its dividend for 4 consecutive years. Fifth Third Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for Fifth Third Bancorp and BankUnited, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Fifth Third Bancorp	0	5	12	2	2.84
BankUnited	1	7	4	0	2.25

Fifth Third Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $47.53, indicating a potential upside of 8.64%. BankUnited has a consensus target price of $40.58, indicating a potential upside of 7.58%. Given Fifth Third Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts clearly believe Fifth Third Bancorp is more favorable than BankUnited.

Profitability

This table compares Fifth Third Bancorp and BankUnited’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Fifth Third Bancorp	17.65%	13.64%	1.14%
BankUnited	12.26%	8.66%	0.69%

Summary

Fifth Third Bancorp beats BankUnited on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Fifth Third Bank, National Association that engages in the provision of a range of financial products and services in the United States. It operates through three segments: Commercial Banking, Consumer and Small Business Banking, and Wealth and Asset Management. The Commercial Banking segment offers credit intermediation, cash management, and financial services; lending and depository products; and cash management, foreign exchange and international trade finance, derivatives and capital markets services, asset-based lending, real estate finance, public finance, commercial leasing, and syndicated finance for business, government, and professional customers. The Consumer and Small Banking segment provides a range of deposit and loan products to individuals and small businesses; home equity loans and lines of credit; credit cards; and cash management services. This segment also engages in the residential mortgage that include origination, retention and servicing of residential mortgage loans, sales and securitizations of loans, and hedging activities; indirect lending, including extending loans to consumers through automobile dealers, motorcycle dealers, powersport dealers, recreational vehicle dealers, and marine dealers; and home improvement and solar energy installation loans through contractors and installers. The Wealth & Asset Management segment provides various wealth management services for individuals, companies, and not-for-profit organizations. It offers retail brokerage services to individual clients; and broker dealer services to the institutional marketplace. This segment also provides wealth planning, investment management, banking, insurance, and trust and estate services; and advisory services for institutional clients comprising middle market businesses, non-profits, states, and municipalities. The company was founded in 1858 and is headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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. Its loans portfolio includes commercial loans, including equipment loans, secured and unsecured lines of credit, formula-based lines of credit, owner-occupied commercial real estate term loans and lines of credit, mortgage warehouse lines, subscription finance facilities, letters of credit, commercial credit cards, small business administration and U.S. department of agriculture product offerings, export-import bank financing products, trade finance, and business acquisition finance credit facilities; commercial real estate loans; residential mortgages; and other consumer loans. The company offers online, mobile, and telephone banking services. It operates through a network of banking centers located in Florida counties and the New York metropolitan area, as well as Dallas, Texas. The company was formerly known as BU Financial Corporation. BankUnited, Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida.