JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Price Target to $41.00

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its price objective hoisted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $34.50 to $41.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on BKU. StockNews.com raised shares of BankUnited from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $30.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $30.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $29.00 to $31.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $34.27.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU opened at $37.80 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29 and a beta of 1.35. BankUnited has a twelve month low of $20.84 and a twelve month high of $38.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $250.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $243.65 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 8.41% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The business’s revenue was up 4.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.78 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that BankUnited will post 2.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 12th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 12th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In related news, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,500 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.28, for a total value of $43,920.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $394,752.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.50, for a total value of $127,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 43,654 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,593,371. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,500 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.28, for a total transaction of $43,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,482 shares in the company, valued at $394,752.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,143 shares of company stock worth $543,005 in the last ninety days. 1.19% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKU. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,163,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of BankUnited by 106.4% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $126,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter worth about $1,206,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter worth about $5,657,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by 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.