BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Given Average Recommendation of “Hold” by Analysts

Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) have earned an average rating of “Hold” from the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $53.2727.

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BankUnited from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of BankUnited from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of BankUnited from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of BankUnited from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th.

BankUnited Stock Up 1.2%

BKU stock opened at $48.69 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $46.63 and a 200 day moving average of $46.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. BankUnited has a 52 week low of $33.33 and a 52 week high of $52.11.

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

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 10th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 10th. This is a positive change from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BankUnited news, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total transaction of $45,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 15,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $690,791.19. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. HoldCo Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in BankUnited during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,752,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in BankUnited during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $7,599,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $73,655,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 334,570 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,767,000 after purchasing an additional 34,952 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,648,000. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About BankUnited

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.