BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $52.7273.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on BKU shares. Wall Street Zen lowered BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on BankUnited from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings upgraded BankUnited from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BKU. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of BankUnited in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 158.2% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in BankUnited by 17,050.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,372 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

BankUnited Price Performance

Shares of BankUnited stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $49.35. 47,788 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 886,175. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.78. BankUnited has a 52-week low of $34.79 and a 52-week high of $52.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.74 and a beta of 1.17.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $273.69 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $284.57 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 14.46% and a return on equity of 9.11%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.78 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that BankUnited will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be issued a $0.33 dividend. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. BankUnited’s payout ratio is currently 36.77%.

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.