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

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) has been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.60.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on BKU shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of BankUnited from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $38.00 to $48.00 in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price objective on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total transaction of $421,527.58. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,911,000. This trade represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total value of $102,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,428,410.66. This trade represents a 6.72 % 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 company insiders.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 103,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,595 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 56,974 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,097,000 after buying an additional 2,856 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,719,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,674,000 after buying an additional 20,218 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of BankUnited by 48.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 183,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,677,000 after buying an additional 59,644 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Stock Up 0.6 %

BankUnited stock opened at $38.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $39.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $36.77. BankUnited has a twelve month low of $24.34 and a twelve month high of $44.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.80 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $515.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.65 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 9.06%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that BankUnited will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.54%.

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.