BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.00.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BKU. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of BankUnited from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Hovde Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other BankUnited news, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.88, for a total transaction of $254,400.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $957,358.08. This represents a 20.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.83, for a total value of $174,703.98. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 35,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,778,283.21. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,953 shares of company stock valued at $591,492. 1.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in BankUnited during the first quarter worth $28,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in BankUnited in the 3rd quarter valued at about $34,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 158.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of BKU opened at $45.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 1.26. BankUnited has a 52 week low of $28.21 and a 52 week high of $52.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $46.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 14.14%.The company had revenue of $260.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $279.76 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Investors of record on Friday, April 10th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 10th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.03%.

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.