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

Key Points

• Short interest jumped 32.0% in April to 3,560,162 shares (about 4.9% of the stock) with a short-interest ratio of roughly 4.0 days based on average daily volume.
• Company insiders sold a total of 11,953 shares (~$591,492) in the last quarter, cutting their collective stake to about 1.00% of the company.
• BankUnited missed quarterly expectations (EPS $0.83 vs. $0.97 consensus and revenue below estimates) but raised its quarterly dividend to $0.33 (annualized $1.32, ~2.8% yield); analysts’ consensus rating is Hold with a $53.27 target.

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 3,560,162 shares, a growth of 32.0% from the March 31st total of 2,696,741 shares. Currently, 4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 893,189 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.88, for a total value of $254,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,816 shares in the company, valued at $957,358.08. The trade was a 20.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,447 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total value of $162,388.17. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $541,765. This trade represents a 23.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,953 shares of company stock worth $591,492. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in BKU. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in BankUnited during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 158.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company's stock.

BankUnited Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE BKU opened at $47.26 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $46.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.71. BankUnited has a one year low of $31.86 and a one year high of $52.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.16 and a beta of 1.26.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 14.46%.The business had revenue of $273.69 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $284.57 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that BankUnited will post 4.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 10th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This is a boost from BankUnited's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. BankUnited's payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of BankUnited from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Hovde Group decreased their price target on shares of BankUnited from $57.00 to $53.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on BankUnited from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.27.

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.

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