Investors Buy Large Volume of BankUnited Call Options (NYSE:BKU)

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock investors purchased 20,710 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 2,565% compared to the typical daily volume of 777 call options.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.88, for a total value of $254,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $957,358.08. The trade was a 20.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.83, for a total value of $174,703.98. Following the sale, the insider owned 35,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,778,283.21. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 11,953 shares of company stock valued at $591,492 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BKU. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth approximately $63,000. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in BankUnited during the 4th quarter worth approximately $225,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $383,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 299,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,340,000 after buying an additional 22,260 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on BankUnited from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of BankUnited from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of BankUnited from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.55.

BankUnited Stock Performance

Shares of BKU opened at $42.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.29. BankUnited has a 12 month low of $28.21 and a 12 month high of $52.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $47.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $43.11.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 14.14%.The firm had revenue of $260.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.76 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 9th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. BankUnited’s payout ratio is presently 35.03%.

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.