BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Tuesday.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Compass Point increased their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays cut their target price on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.18.

BankUnited Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE BKU opened at $34.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.40. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $38.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $38.07. BankUnited has a 12 month low of $24.34 and a 12 month high of $44.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 11.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.66%.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In other BankUnited news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,955. The trade was a 20.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti purchased 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.83 per share, with a total value of $32,830.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $715,103.06. This trade represents a 4.81 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 182.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in BankUnited by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in BankUnited during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $73,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in BankUnited by 270.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd bought a new position in BankUnited during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $113,000. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Company Profile

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.