Hovde Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Stock Price

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its target price cut by equities research analysts at Hovde Group from $53.00 to $52.00 in a report released on Monday, Briefing.com reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Hovde Group’s target price indicates a potential upside of 16.06% from the stock’s previous close.

BKU has been the topic of a number of other reports. Zacks Research cut BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BankUnited from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on shares of BankUnited from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BankUnited presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $51.55.

BankUnited Price Performance

Shares of BankUnited stock opened at $44.81 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.28 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $46.94 and a 200-day moving average of $46.68. BankUnited has a 52-week low of $35.10 and a 52-week high of $52.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.03). BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 14.76%.The business had revenue of $284.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.33 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that BankUnited will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In related news, Director Douglas Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.90, for a total transaction of $143,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 42,472 shares in the company, valued at $2,034,408.80. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,472 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in BankUnited by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,673 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 289 shares in the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its position in BankUnited by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 17,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in BankUnited by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,810 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 85.4% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 938 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BankUnited Company Profile

BankUnited, Inc (NYSE:BKU) is the bank holding company for BankUnited, N.A., a national bank headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida. The company provides banking products and services to commercial and middle-market businesses, public-sector organizations, and individual consumers.

Its offerings include commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, residential and commercial mortgage lending, consumer loans, deposit accounts, treasury management, online and mobile banking, and other cash-management services.