Head-To-Head Survey: BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) vs. Comerica (NYSE:CMA)

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) and Comerica (NYSE:CMA) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends and earnings.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares BankUnited and Comerica”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BankUnited	$2.02 billion	1.44	$232.47 million	$3.41	11.40
Comerica	$4.99 billion	1.79	$698.00 million	$5.22	13.33

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for BankUnited and Comerica, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BankUnited	1	7	3	0	2.18
Comerica	5	11	5	0	2.00

BankUnited presently has a consensus price target of $41.5455, indicating a potential upside of 6.84%. Comerica has a consensus price target of $64.40, indicating a potential downside of 7.44%. Given BankUnited’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe BankUnited is more favorable than Comerica.

Profitability

This table compares BankUnited and Comerica’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BankUnited	13.19%	9.00%	0.73%
Comerica	14.92%	10.92%	0.92%

Risk & Volatility

BankUnited has a beta of 1.32, indicating that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Comerica has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

99.7% of BankUnited shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.7% of Comerica shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.2% of BankUnited shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of Comerica shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

BankUnited pays an annual dividend of $1.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Comerica pays an annual dividend of $2.84 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. BankUnited pays out 36.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Comerica pays out 54.4% 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. BankUnited has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years.

Summary

Comerica beats BankUnited on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Comerica

Comerica Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services. The company operates through Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, Wealth Management, and Finance segments. The Commercial Bank segment offers various products and services, including commercial loans and lines of credit, deposits, cash management, payment solutions, card services, capital market products, international trade finance, letters of credit, foreign exchange management services, and loan syndication services for small and middle market businesses, multinational corporations, and governmental entities. The Retail Bank segment provides personal financial services, such as consumer lending, consumer deposit gathering, and mortgage loan origination; and various consumer products that include deposit accounts, installment loans, credit cards, student loans, home equity lines of credit, and residential mortgage loans. The Wealth Management segment offers products and services comprising financial planning, trust and fiduciary services, investment management and advisory, brokerage, private banking, and business transition planning services for affluents, high-net worth and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, business owners, and executives, and institutional clients. The Finance segment comprises securities portfolio, and asset and liability management activities. It operates in Texas, California, Michigan, Arizona, and Florida, the United States; and Canada and Mexico. The company was formerly known as DETROITBANK Corporation and changed its name to Comerica Incorporated in July 1982. Comerica Incorporated was founded in 1849 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.