BankUnited Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:BKU)

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders purchased 20,710 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 2,565% compared to the average daily volume of 777 call options.

BankUnited Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of BankUnited stock traded down $0.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $43.16. 387,264 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 929,630. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. BankUnited has a 52 week low of $28.21 and a 52 week high of $52.11. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.05. The company has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 1.29.

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

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BankUnited news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 35,687 shares in the company, valued at $1,778,283.21. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,447 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total value of $162,388.17. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $541,765. The trade was a 23.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 11,953 shares of company stock worth $591,492 in the last three months. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after buying an additional 2,394 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in BankUnited by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in BankUnited in the first quarter worth about $9,100,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in BankUnited in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its stake in BankUnited by 227.3% during the second quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 23,394 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 16,246 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Susquehanna upgraded shares of BankUnited to a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $55.00 price target on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on BankUnited from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.55.

BankUnited Company Profile

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.