Cantor Fitzgerald Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Stock

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its target price lifted by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $51.00 to $56.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.29% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on BKU. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $55.00 target price on BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Hovde Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of BankUnited from $49.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.55.

BankUnited Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BKU opened at $47.34 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $47.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $42.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. BankUnited has a 1-year low of $28.21 and a 1-year high of $52.11.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. BankUnited had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The firm 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 firm posted $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BankUnited news, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.88, for a total value of $254,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $957,358.08. This represents a 20.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.83, for a total transaction of $174,703.98. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,778,283.21. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in shares of BankUnited in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in BankUnited during the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited during the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in BankUnited by 158.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares during the period. 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.