BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the ten research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.40.

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on BKU shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Compass Point raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 182.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in BankUnited by 270.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in BankUnited in the fourth quarter valued at about $113,000. 99.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

BankUnited Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of BKU opened at $37.19 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $39.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07 and a beta of 1.37. BankUnited has a 12 month low of $24.34 and a 12 month high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 posted $0.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.66%.

BankUnited Company Profile

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.