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

Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eleven research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have assigned a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.45.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Piper Sandler raised shares of BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th.

BankUnited Stock Down 0.3 %

BKU stock opened at $35.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.40. BankUnited has a 12 month low of $24.34 and a 12 month high of $44.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 11.48%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.66%.

Insider Activity

In other BankUnited news, Director Sanjiv Sobti bought 1,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.83 per share, for a total transaction of $32,830.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $715,103.06. This represents a 4.81 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,955. This represents a 20.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of BankUnited by 42.3% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in BankUnited by 9.2% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after buying an additional 426 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 182.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. 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.