BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Price Target Cut to $44.00 by Analysts at Hovde Group

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its target price decreased by Hovde Group from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. Hovde Group currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on BKU. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler upgraded BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $43.45.

BankUnited Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of BKU stock opened at $35.20 on Tuesday. BankUnited has a 12-month low of $24.34 and a 12-month high of $44.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $37.80 and a 200-day moving average of $38.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 1.40.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 11.48%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. This is a boost from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 11th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.66%.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In other news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $113,772.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,955. This represents a 20.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.07 per share, with a total value of $64,140.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 20,782 shares in the company, valued at $666,478.74. The trade was a 10.65 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,598,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,392,000 after purchasing an additional 181,493 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,821,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,696,000 after acquiring an additional 322,368 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,719,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,674,000 after acquiring an additional 20,218 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,149,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,889,000 after purchasing an additional 36,328 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of BankUnited during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,525,000. 99.70% of the stock is 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.