Wells Fargo & Company Raises BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Price Target to $50.00

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its target price lifted by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 24.88% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Compass Point lifted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.80.

BankUnited Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BKU opened at $40.04 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $39.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.47. BankUnited has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $44.45. The company has a market capitalization of $2.99 billion, a PE ratio of 16.36 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 8.09%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that BankUnited will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In related news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total transaction of $102,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,410.66. This trade represents a 6.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total transaction of $421,527.58. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,911,000. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in BankUnited by 182.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in BankUnited during the 4th quarter worth $113,000. KBC Group NV increased its stake in BankUnited by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 1,883 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in BankUnited by 118.3% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 2,280 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in BankUnited by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $169,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

About BankUnited

BankUnited, Inc operates as the bank holding company for BankUnited, a national banking association that provides a range of banking services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, money market deposit, and savings accounts; certificates of deposit; and treasury, commercial payment, and cash management services.