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

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Wedbush cut their price target on BankUnited from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on BankUnited from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on BankUnited from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Barclays began coverage on BankUnited in a report on Friday, March 8th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $30.50.

BankUnited Price Performance

BankUnited stock traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $27.38. 752,931 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 888,857. The company has a market capitalization of $2.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a current ratio of 0.88. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $27.27. BankUnited has a 1 year low of $15.83 and a 1 year high of $34.22.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $508.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.84 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 8.06%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that BankUnited will post 2.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In related news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 2,285 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.18, for a total transaction of $62,106.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,750 shares in the company, valued at approximately $319,365. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in BankUnited by 54.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,459,268 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,324,000 after buying an additional 513,342 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 422.5% during the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 584,573 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,368,000 after acquiring an additional 472,694 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,202,637 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $298,442,000 after acquiring an additional 332,567 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 23.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,539,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,939,000 after purchasing an additional 290,232 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,596,577 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $116,639,000 after purchasing an additional 251,281 shares during the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.