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

Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, seven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $53.5455.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BKU shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on BankUnited from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.83, for a total value of $174,703.98. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 35,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,778,283.21. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 value of $254,400.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,816 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $957,358.08. This trade represents a 20.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,000. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in BankUnited in the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of BankUnited in the fourth quarter worth approximately $383,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 299,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,340,000 after buying an additional 22,260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE BKU opened at $47.35 on Wednesday. BankUnited has a 1 year low of $28.21 and a 1 year high of $52.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The business’s 50-day moving average is $47.43 and its 200 day moving average is $42.76.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $260.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $279.76 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 14.14%.During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

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

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.