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

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors purchased 19,542 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 2,213% compared to the typical daily volume of 845 call options.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $194,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 40,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,971,232.34. The trade was a 8.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total value of $45,970.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 15,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $690,791.19. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HoldCo Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the third quarter valued at about $35,752,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL bought a new position in shares of BankUnited during the third quarter worth about $7,599,000. Jain Global LLC acquired a new stake in BankUnited in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $11,224,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in BankUnited in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,655,000. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC bought a new stake in BankUnited in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,648,000. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Trading Up 1.6%

BKU traded up $0.78 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $49.90. 696,129 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 849,912. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $46.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $46.54. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $34.50 and a fifty-two week high of $52.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 1.17.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). BankUnited had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 9.11%. The company had revenue of $273.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.57 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th were given a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. This is a boost from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. BankUnited’s payout ratio is presently 36.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKU has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded BankUnited from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on BankUnited from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded BankUnited from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on BankUnited from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, BankUnited has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.27.

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.