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

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.50.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $42.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on BankUnited from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 19th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its position in shares of BankUnited by 32.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in BankUnited by 23.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,452 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 276 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 1.4% during the third quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 22,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in BankUnited by 1.4% during the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 22,104 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $787,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 1.2% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 27,917 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Stock Performance

Shares of BKU opened at $44.52 on Tuesday. BankUnited has a one year low of $28.21 and a one year high of $46.92. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 1.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $43.48 and a 200-day moving average of $39.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.11. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 13.98%.The business had revenue of $275.68 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.81 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 9th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.93%.

About BankUnited

BankUnited, Inc is a bank holding company based in Miami Lakes, Florida, operating through its subsidiary BankUnited, National Association. The company provides a broad range of commercial banking products and services, including deposit accounts, commercial lending and treasury management. It serves middle-market and small-business clients, offering tailored financing solutions across a variety of industry sectors.

The bank’s lending portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans and construction financing, as well as residential mortgage lending.