BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Price Target Lowered to $31.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its target price decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $33.00 to $31.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

BKU has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of BankUnited from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Barclays started coverage on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $29.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of BankUnited from $34.00 to $33.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $30.50.

BankUnited Stock Performance

Shares of BKU stock opened at $25.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92. The company has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.36. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $26.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $26.96. BankUnited has a 52 week low of $15.83 and a 52 week high of $34.22.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02. BankUnited had a net margin of 9.19% and a return on equity of 8.38%. The company had revenue of $508.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.84 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that BankUnited will post 2.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is an increase from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 11th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.48%. BankUnited’s payout ratio is presently 48.74%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 2,285 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.18, for a total value of $62,106.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $319,365. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKU. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 2,918 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 1,327 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 106.4% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in BankUnited in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $147,000. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 347.0% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,558 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,000 after acquiring an additional 2,762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in BankUnited in the second quarter valued at approximately $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Company Profile

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.