BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Price Target Raised to $56.00 at Cantor Fitzgerald

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its target price upped by Cantor Fitzgerald from $51.00 to $56.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Susquehanna upgraded shares of BankUnited to a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Raymond James Financial set a $55.00 target price on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Hovde Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $51.00 target price on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Monday, December 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $53.55.

BankUnited Stock Up 0.3%

BKU opened at $47.35 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. BankUnited has a twelve month low of $28.21 and a twelve month high of $52.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 1.29.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.09. BankUnited had a net margin of 14.14% and a return on equity of 9.09%. The firm had revenue of $260.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $279.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 9th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 9th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.03%.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In related news, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.88, for a total transaction of $254,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $957,358.08. The trade was a 20.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.83, for a total transaction of $174,703.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 35,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,778,283.21. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in BankUnited in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited during the third quarter worth about $34,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of BankUnited during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Finally, Quarry LP raised its position in BankUnited by 158.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Company Profile

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.