BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Stock Price Target Lowered at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut its price target on BankUnited from $47 to $46 and maintained an “equal weight” rating, implying 3.05% upside from the prior close.
• Analysts overall rate the stock “Hold,” with a consensus price target of $48.82; six rate it Buy, five Hold, and three Sell.
• BankUnited matched quarterly EPS estimates at $1.03, while revenue of $280.44 million fell short of the $292.50 million forecast.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $47.00 to $46.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "equal weight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would suggest a potential upside of 3.05% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on BKU. Wall Street Zen upgraded BankUnited from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of BankUnited in a report on Wednesday, August 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on BankUnited from $54.00 to $52.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Hovde Group lowered their price target on shares of BankUnited from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $48.82.

BankUnited Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:BKU opened at $44.64 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 1.25. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $43.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. BankUnited has a 52-week low of $38.01 and a 52-week high of $52.11.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.03. The company had revenue of $280.44 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $292.50 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.36% and a net margin of 15.01%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 3.90 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In other BankUnited news, Director Douglas Pauls sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.90, for a total value of $143,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 42,472 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,034,408.80. The trade was a 6.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in BKU. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in BankUnited in the second quarter worth about $518,492,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 0.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,658,844 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $210,390,000 after purchasing an additional 26,292 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of BankUnited during the second quarter valued at approximately $46,177,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of BankUnited by 9.0% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 819,548 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $37,011,000 after purchasing an additional 67,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 0.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 360,326 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $16,272,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares during the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BankUnited Company Profile

BankUnited, Inc is the bank holding company for BankUnited, N.A., a commercial bank headquartered in Miami Lakes, Florida. It serves businesses, individuals and institutions through banking offices and digital channels.

The bank provides commercial and consumer deposit accounts, lending and cash-management services. Its commercial offerings include business loans and specialized financing, while its consumer services include personal banking and residential mortgage lending.

BankUnited began operations in 2009 after acquiring the assets and deposits of the former BankUnited, FSB.

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