BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Receives Average Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) have received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.18.

A number of research firms have weighed in on BKU. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Compass Point raised their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Piper Sandler raised BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com cut BankUnited from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sanjiv Sobti acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.07 per share, with a total value of $64,140.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 20,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,478.74. The trade was a 10.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,955. This represents a 20.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in BankUnited by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,598,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $366,392,000 after acquiring an additional 181,493 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,821,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,696,000 after purchasing an additional 322,368 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,719,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,674,000 after purchasing an additional 20,218 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,149,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,889,000 after purchasing an additional 36,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter valued at $34,525,000. 99.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BankUnited Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:BKU opened at $34.59 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 1.40. BankUnited has a 52-week low of $24.34 and a 52-week high of $44.45. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $38.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.05.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 11.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. BankUnited’s payout ratio is currently 37.66%.

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.