BankUnited, Inc. (BKU) – What Are Investment Firms Saying About This Stock?

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.45.

A number of research firms have commented on BKU. Barclays reduced their price target on BankUnited from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Hovde Group lowered their price objective on BankUnited from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Wall Street Zen raised BankUnited from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

BankUnited Stock Performance

Shares of BankUnited stock opened at $41.31 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.20. BankUnited has a twelve month low of $36.05 and a twelve month high of $52.11. The company’s fifty day moving average is $44.65 and its 200 day moving average is $46.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $284.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.33 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 14.76%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 3.99 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 9th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Douglas Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.90, for a total value of $143,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 42,472 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,034,408.80. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in BankUnited in the second quarter valued at $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in BankUnited by 62.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 690 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 266 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in BankUnited by 85.4% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 432 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 2nd quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Nykredit A S bought a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BankUnited

BankUnited, Inc (NYSE:BKU) is the bank holding company for BankUnited, N.A., a regional financial institution headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida. The bank serves businesses, professionals, institutions and individual consumers through a range of commercial and personal banking products.

BankUnited’s offerings include commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, residential mortgage warehouse lending, consumer loans, checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, and treasury management services.