BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $52.7273.

BKU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of BankUnited from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup cut shares of BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $45.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Hovde Group dropped their target price on shares of BankUnited from $57.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In related news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $194,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 40,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,971,232.34. This trade represents a 8.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were 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 represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 819,548 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $37,011,000 after purchasing an additional 67,981 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in BankUnited in the first quarter valued at $6,797,000. Amundi raised its stake in BankUnited by 31.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 15,300 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $691,000 after buying an additional 3,660 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 30.9% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 92,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,197,000 after buying an additional 21,956 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 89.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $348,000 after buying an additional 3,643 shares during the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

BankUnited Trading Down 0.2%

BKU stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $49.35. 47,788 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 886,175. BankUnited has a 1-year low of $34.79 and a 1-year high of $52.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a PE ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.17. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.78.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). The business had revenue of $273.69 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.57 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 9.11%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BankUnited will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 10th. BankUnited’s payout ratio is currently 36.77%.

About BankUnited

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.