BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Hovde Group cut their price target on BankUnited from $57.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research downgraded BankUnited from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of BankUnited from $55.00 to $50.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on BankUnited from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

BankUnited Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE BKU opened at $46.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. BankUnited has a twelve month low of $34.79 and a twelve month high of $52.11. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71 and a beta of 1.17. The business’s fifty day moving average is $47.67 and its 200 day moving average is $47.04.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by ($0.03). BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 14.76%.The firm had revenue of $284.57 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.33 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that BankUnited will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 10th will be paid a $0.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 10th. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. BankUnited’s payout ratio is 36.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $690,791.19. The trade was a 6.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.67, for a total transaction of $194,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 40,502 shares in the company, valued at $1,971,232.34. The trade was a 8.99% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,092 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 2,394 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in BankUnited by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 44,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after buying an additional 1,934 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in BankUnited during the 1st quarter worth approximately $9,100,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in BankUnited during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 1.2% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 570,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,318,000 after acquiring an additional 6,815 shares in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.