Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Price Target to $49.00

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its target price lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $51.00 to $49.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BankUnited from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered BankUnited from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.73.

BankUnited Stock Performance

Shares of BKU stock opened at $47.56 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $47.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $47.14. BankUnited has a 12 month low of $35.10 and a 12 month high of $52.11.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $284.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.33 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 14.76% and a return on equity of 9.13%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.33 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is 36.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 4,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $194,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total value of $45,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $690,791.19. This trade represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of BankUnited by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $623,000 after buying an additional 2,394 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,934 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 1st quarter valued at $9,100,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of BankUnited by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 570,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,318,000 after acquiring an additional 6,815 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.