BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Reaches New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $44.57 and last traded at $44.4940, with a volume of 91732 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on BKU. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on BankUnited from $45.00 to $42.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $55.00 in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 target price on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 target price on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.27.

BankUnited Stock Up 2.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $37.63.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $275.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.33 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 13.98%.The firm’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that BankUnited, Inc. will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in BankUnited in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 14,050.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 158.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in BankUnited by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

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.