BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Coverage Initiated at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $39.00 target price on the financial services provider's stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Hovde Group cut their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on BankUnited from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $34.00 and set a "sell" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut BankUnited from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $40.42.

BankUnited Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BKU traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.55. 548,596 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 797,477. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $33.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.10. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.29. BankUnited has a twelve month low of $26.78 and a twelve month high of $44.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.04. BankUnited had a net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. The company had revenue of $255.41 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $264.35 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.64 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 11th were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from BankUnited's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.59%. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio is 38.51%.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In other BankUnited news, Director Sanjiv Sobti bought 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.07 per share, with a total value of $64,140.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 20,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $666,478.74. The trade was a 10.65% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,955. The trade was a 20.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in BankUnited by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 410 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of BankUnited by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,802 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in BankUnited by 182.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in shares of BankUnited by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,230 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $314,000 after acquiring an additional 555 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 15,163 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is owned by 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.