Hovde Group Issues Positive Forecast for BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Stock Price

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by research analysts at Hovde Group from $43.00 to $44.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Hovde Group's price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.38% from the company's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on BKU. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of BankUnited from $40.00 to $38.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. They set a "hold" rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $41.18.

BankUnited Stock Performance

NYSE:BKU traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $38.47. The stock had a trading volume of 716,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 829,491. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.73 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 company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last released 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 firm had revenue of $273.93 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $267.17 million. BankUnited had a net margin of 13.19% and a return on equity of 9.00%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.72 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In other news, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.43, for a total value of $34,430.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,516 shares of the company's stock, valued at $499,785.88. This trade represents a 6.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Leslie Lunak sold 22,776 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.56, for a total transaction of $764,362.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 59,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,010,210.44. This trade represents a 27.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of BankUnited by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,598,953 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $366,392,000 after acquiring an additional 181,493 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in BankUnited by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,821,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $107,696,000 after acquiring an additional 322,368 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in BankUnited by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,849,271 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $63,689,000 after buying an additional 107,962 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,461,439 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $50,332,000 after purchasing an additional 53,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in BankUnited by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,250,997 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,084,000 after buying an additional 101,170 shares in the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is 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.