Cantor Fitzgerald Reiterates “Overweight” Rating for BankUnited (NYSE:BKU)

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating restated by equities research analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $56.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.67% from the stock’s current price.

BKU has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup downgraded BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $45.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on BankUnited from $57.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on BankUnited from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.73.

BankUnited Price Performance

BankUnited stock opened at $49.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 13.72 and a beta of 1.17. BankUnited has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $52.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The company’s 50 day moving average is $47.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.94.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). BankUnited had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 9.11%. The business had revenue of $273.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $284.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that BankUnited will post 4.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total value of $194,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 40,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,971,232.34. This trade represents a 8.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.97, for a total transaction of $45,970.00. Following the sale, the director owned 15,027 shares in the company, valued at $690,791.19. This represents a 6.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,658,844 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $210,390,000 after purchasing an additional 26,292 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,437,792 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $197,792,000 after purchasing an additional 149,450 shares during the last quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 277.3% in the 4th quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 3,535,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,568,000 after purchasing an additional 2,598,382 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,155,793 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $140,654,000 after purchasing an additional 84,971 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter valued at about $73,655,000. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.