BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at UBS Group

UBS Group started coverage on shares of BankUnited (NYSE:BKU – Get Rating) in a report published on Wednesday morning, The Fly reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $25.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of BankUnited from $35.00 to $32.00 and set an underweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of BankUnited from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of BankUnited from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $39.25.

BankUnited Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKU opened at $21.27 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $34.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.19. BankUnited has a fifty-two week low of $20.54 and a fifty-two week high of $45.86. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 1.23.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.29). BankUnited had a return on equity of 11.08% and a net margin of 21.78%. The company had revenue of $269.88 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $268.41 million. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BankUnited will post 3.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 12th will be paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 11th. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.08%. This is an increase from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.17%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 1,406 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.21, for a total value of $49,505.26. Following the sale, the insider now owns 10,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $352,100. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.91% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKU. Infini Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in BankUnited in the 2nd quarter worth about $71,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in BankUnited by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,100 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC raised its position in BankUnited by 73.8% during the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $89,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. raised its position in BankUnited by 83.4% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new position in BankUnited during the 4th quarter worth approximately $134,000.

BankUnited Company Profile

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BankUnited, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of commercial and consumer banking services through its subsidiary, BankUnited, N.A.. Its services include corporate banking, commercial real estate, treasury management, business checking accounts, business online banking solutions, and home mortgages.