Compass Point Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Stock

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its target price hoisted by Compass Point from $42.00 to $49.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

BKU has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised BankUnited from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $38.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.45.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU stock opened at $41.18 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $35.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.88 and a beta of 1.36. 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 1.28, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 9.06%. The business had revenue of $515.24 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that BankUnited will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 11th were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. BankUnited’s payout ratio is presently 47.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKU. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in BankUnited by 8.2% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 632,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,517,000 after acquiring an additional 48,059 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the 2nd quarter worth $799,000. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in BankUnited in the third quarter valued at about $443,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $515,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in BankUnited by 211.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 59,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,172,000 after purchasing an additional 40,461 shares during the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.