Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Pessimistic Forecast for BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Stock Price

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its price target reduced by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $40.00 to $38.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “market perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price suggests a potential upside of 14.31% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BKU. Hovde Group lowered their price target on BankUnited from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of BankUnited from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their target price on BankUnited from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.55.

BankUnited Stock Performance

Shares of BKU opened at $33.24 on Wednesday. BankUnited has a 52-week low of $26.78 and a 52-week high of $44.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 1.20. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.23.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.04. BankUnited had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. The company had revenue of $255.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $264.35 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.64 EPS. Analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In related news, Director Sanjiv Sobti purchased 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.07 per share, with a total value of $64,140.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 20,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $666,478.74. This represents a 10.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $113,772.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 1.15% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited in the fourth quarter worth about $34,525,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at $30,499,000. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC purchased a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the fourth quarter valued at $18,663,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,821,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $107,696,000 after buying an additional 322,368 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in BankUnited by 36.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,059,697 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,496,000 after buying an additional 285,092 shares during the period. 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.