BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• BankUnited posted weaker-than-expected Q2 results, with EPS of $0.97 versus consensus around $1.00-$1.02, and revenue also missed estimates. Despite the miss, EPS was still higher than the same quarter last year.
• Analysts remain mixed on the stock: Citigroup and Wall Street Zen cut their ratings to sell, while Zacks kept a Strong-Buy rating and the broader consensus is still Moderate Buy with an average price target of $52.73.
• Shares traded unusually heavy volume and the stock fell to about $45.33 from a prior close of $48.07. BankUnited also recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, yielding about 2.9%.

Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Wednesday . 1,094,620 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 23% from the previous session's volume of 888,267 shares.The stock last traded at $45.3290 and had previously closed at $48.07.

Key BankUnited News

Here are the key news stories impacting BankUnited this week:

• Negative Sentiment: BankUnited reported Q2 EPS of $0.97, missing the consensus estimate of about $1.00-$1.02, which suggests earnings were slightly weaker than Wall Street expected. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue also missed estimates, adding to investor concern that the quarter was not as strong as hoped. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company’s earnings were still higher than a year ago on a per-share basis, showing some underlying improvement even though results fell short of forecasts. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks Research trimmed several forward EPS estimates for 2027 and 2028, but it still kept a Strong-Buy rating, which may partly offset the negative reaction. Article Title

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of BankUnited from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $50.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of BankUnited from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of BankUnited from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of BankUnited from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $52.73.

BankUnited Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61 and a beta of 1.17. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $47.63 and a 200-day moving average of $47.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.03). BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 14.46%.During the same period last year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that BankUnited, Inc. will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In other BankUnited news, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total transaction of $45,970.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 15,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at $690,791.19. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $194,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 40,502 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,971,232.34. This represents a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in BankUnited by 47.2% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 254,990 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $12,354,000 after purchasing an additional 81,741 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,620 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $321,000 after purchasing an additional 491 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 819,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $37,011,000 after purchasing an additional 67,981 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $6,797,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 31.4% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 15,300 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 3,660 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company's stock.

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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