BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) has been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the ten analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have given a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $43.40.

Several analysts have issued reports on BKU shares. Compass Point increased their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In other BankUnited news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total value of $102,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,410.66. The trade was a 6.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total transaction of $421,527.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,911,000. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BKU. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited during the third quarter valued at about $443,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 211.5% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 59,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after buying an additional 40,461 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited during the third quarter valued at about $347,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 7.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 41,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 2,778 shares during the period. Finally, LMR Partners LLP purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited during the third quarter valued at about $557,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Stock Performance

NYSE BKU opened at $40.78 on Tuesday. BankUnited has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $44.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 1.38. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $39.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $37.74.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. Analysts predict that BankUnited will post 3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.66%.

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.