BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Analyst Says

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods has raised BankUnited's price target to $42.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.18% from the previous close.
• Several other firms have also increased their price targets for BankUnited, with Hovde Group setting a target of $44.00 and Piper Sandler adjusting to $43.00.
• BankUnited's recent quarterly earnings surpassed estimates, reporting $0.91 EPS compared to a consensus estimate of $0.79.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) had its price target hoisted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $38.00 to $42.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider's stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on BKU. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $43.00 target price (up from $41.00) on shares of BankUnited in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group upped their target price on BankUnited from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on BankUnited from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.55.

BankUnited Stock Performance

NYSE:BKU traded down $0.35 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $36.38. 265,150 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 832,740. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.78. BankUnited has a 52 week low of $28.21 and a 52 week high of $44.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.67 and a beta of 1.29.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $273.93 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.17 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 13.19%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.72 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 11th will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 11th. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.36%.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In other news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $1,675,921.95. This trade represents a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total transaction of $152,989.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 31,218 shares of company stock valued at $1,087,547. Insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 14,050.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 849 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,111 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 271 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $53,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 165.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 1,175 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

BankUnited Company Profile

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.