BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Receives Average Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $35.50.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BKU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $34.50 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Barclays upped their target price on BankUnited from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on BankUnited from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director William S. Rubenstein sold 7,864 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total transaction of $303,314.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,282 shares in the company, valued at $396,576.74. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total value of $127,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,371. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director William S. Rubenstein sold 7,864 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.57, for a total value of $303,314.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,282 shares in the company, valued at $396,576.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,507 shares of company stock valued at $802,400. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 3.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,483,630 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $265,542,000 after buying an additional 280,993 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,583,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $134,144,000 after acquiring an additional 315,872 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 49.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,247,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,778,000 after acquiring an additional 740,896 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 6.4% during the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,552,387 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,467,000 after purchasing an additional 93,119 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in BankUnited by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 935,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,330,000 after purchasing an additional 136,291 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:BKU opened at $35.56 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $36.62 and its 200 day moving average is $31.26. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.33 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.87. BankUnited has a 1 year low of $20.84 and a 1 year high of $39.51.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.07. BankUnited had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 8.41%. The firm had revenue of $250.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $243.65 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.78 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that BankUnited will post 2.88 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 11th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

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.