Barclays Cuts BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Price Target to $53.00

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its price objective cut by research analysts at Barclays from $55.00 to $53.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 16.36% from the stock’s current price.

BKU has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on BankUnited from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on BankUnited from $42.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Susquehanna upgraded BankUnited to a “positive” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on BankUnited from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded BankUnited from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $53.82.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU stock traded down $0.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $45.55. 320,253 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 910,945. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.86 and a beta of 1.26. BankUnited has a 52 week low of $28.49 and a 52 week high of $52.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $46.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.77.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $260.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $279.76 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.09% and a net margin of 14.14%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.91 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In related news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.83, for a total transaction of $174,703.98. Following the sale, the insider owned 35,687 shares in the company, valued at $1,778,283.21. This represents a 8.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,447 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total value of $162,388.17. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $541,765. The trade was a 23.06% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,953 shares of company stock worth $591,492. Insiders own 1.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BKU. HoldCo Asset Management LP boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 277.3% during the 4th quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 3,535,282 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $157,568,000 after purchasing an additional 2,598,382 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter valued at about $73,655,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 1,066.9% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,399,655 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,383,000 after purchasing an additional 1,279,712 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 398.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,170,378 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $52,164,000 after purchasing an additional 935,370 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 73.4% during the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,542,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $68,728,000 after purchasing an additional 652,926 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

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.