BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on BKU. Weiss Ratings raised BankUnited from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Zacks Research cut BankUnited from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of BankUnited from $52.00 to $50.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Hovde Group cut their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $57.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $52.00.

BankUnited Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of BKU stock opened at $46.39 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. BankUnited has a 1 year low of $34.79 and a 1 year high of $52.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.17.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.03). BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 14.76%.The company had revenue of $284.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.33 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. BankUnited’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that BankUnited will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In related news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $194,680.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 40,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,971,232.34. This trade represents a 8.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 sale, the director owned 15,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $690,791.19. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in BankUnited in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in BankUnited in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Quarry LP raised its position in BankUnited by 158.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in BankUnited by 141.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.