BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• BankUnited, Inc. has a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from twelve brokerages, with an average price target of $41.75.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, representing an annualized yield of 3.2%.
• BankUnited reported earnings of $0.91 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.79.

Shares of BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Hold" from the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $41.75.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd.

BankUnited Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:BKU traded up $0.03 on Wednesday, hitting $39.33. The stock had a trading volume of 932,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 524,425. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market cap of $2.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.29. BankUnited has a 1 year low of $28.21 and a 1 year high of $44.45. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $37.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.27.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.12. BankUnited had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 9.00%. The firm had revenue of $273.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. Analysts predict that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.36%.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.79, for a total value of $135,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,675,921.95. This trade represents a 7.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total transaction of $152,989.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,521,080.33. This trade represents a 9.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BKU. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in BankUnited by 893.2% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,150,879 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $39,636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,035,002 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in BankUnited in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,299,000. Kodai Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in BankUnited in the 1st quarter worth approximately $16,986,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in BankUnited in the 1st quarter worth approximately $16,338,000. Finally, Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC lifted its stake in BankUnited by 64.9% in the 1st quarter. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC now owns 806,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,775,000 after purchasing an additional 317,532 shares in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BankUnited

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.