BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on BKU. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Compass Point boosted their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.40.

BankUnited Stock Down 4.9 %

NYSE:BKU traded down $1.63 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $31.42. The company had a trading volume of 1,488,207 shares, compared to its average volume of 772,669. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. BankUnited has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $44.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.20 and a beta of 1.40.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 last year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at $430,955. The trade was a 20.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 182.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at $73,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 270.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at $113,000. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.