BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.9091.

Several research firms recently weighed in on BKU. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $43.00 price target (up previously from $41.00) on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Citigroup upped their price target on BankUnited from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on BankUnited from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on BankUnited from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th.

BankUnited Stock Down 5.9%

BKU stock opened at $37.66 on Friday. BankUnited has a fifty-two week low of $28.21 and a fifty-two week high of $44.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $38.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.27.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.12. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 13.19%.The firm had revenue of $273.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 10th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 10th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.36%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BankUnited news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.79, for a total value of $135,765.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 43,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,675,921.95. This trade represents a 7.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total value of $152,989.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,193 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,521,080.33. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 31.7% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 7,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $257,000 after purchasing an additional 1,798 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 372,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,820,000 after buying an additional 9,750 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 1st quarter worth $585,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 1st quarter worth $1,398,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,059,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,496,000 after buying an additional 285,092 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.