Stock Traders Purchase High Volume of Call Options on BankUnited (NYSE:BKU)

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) saw unusually large options trading on Friday. Traders acquired 20,710 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 2,565% compared to the typical volume of 777 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BKU. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research raised BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on BankUnited from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Susquehanna raised BankUnited to a “positive” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.55.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU stock opened at $42.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. BankUnited has a 12 month low of $28.21 and a 12 month high of $52.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.29. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.08.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $260.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $279.76 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 9.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In related news, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were 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 approximately $957,358.08. This represents a 20.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,447 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total transaction of $162,388.17. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 11,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,765. This represents a 23.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,953 shares of company stock valued at $591,492. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of BKU. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in BankUnited in the third quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in BankUnited by 158.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

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.