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

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $41.5455.

A number of research firms have recently commented on BKU. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a “hold” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price target on BankUnited from $41.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $43.00 price target (up previously from $41.00) on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Thursday, July 24th.

BankUnited Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:BKU opened at $38.38 on Wednesday. BankUnited has a 1-year low of $28.21 and a 1-year high of $44.45. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.29.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $267.17 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.36%.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.79, for a total transaction of $135,765.00. Following the sale, the director owned 43,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,675,921.95. This trade represents a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total value of $152,989.02. Following the transaction, the insider 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Strs Ohio bought a new position in shares of BankUnited during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 14,050.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd grew its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 32.3% during the second quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 141.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 898 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 165.5% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.