Hovde Group Lowers BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Price Target to $44.00

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its target price dropped by investment analysts at Hovde Group from $46.00 to $44.00 in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Hovde Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 24.14% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays dropped their target price on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, BankUnited presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.45.

BankUnited Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of BKU stock opened at $35.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $37.88 and a 200-day moving average of $38.03. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.40. BankUnited has a 52-week low of $24.34 and a 52-week high of $44.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.86.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sanjiv Sobti purchased 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.07 per share, with a total value of $64,140.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $666,478.74. The trade was a 10.65 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,955. This represents a 20.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in BankUnited by 182.3% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 42.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 410 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth $73,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 270.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the fourth quarter worth $113,000. 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.