Cantor Fitzgerald Begins Coverage on BankUnited (NYSE:BKU)

Key Points

• Cantor Fitzgerald has initiated coverage on BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) with an "overweight" rating and a price target of $44.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.26% from the current stock price.
• BankUnited recently reported earnings of $0.91 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations and showing year-over-year growth from $0.72 per share.
• The average rating for BankUnited shares is currently "Hold," with 4 analysts giving a Buy rating, 7 a Hold rating, and 1 a Sell rating, indicating mixed sentiment from analysts.

Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $44.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock.

BKU has been the topic of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated 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. Hovde Group raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $43.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on BankUnited from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on BankUnited from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $41.75.

BankUnited Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE BKU traded down $0.87 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.45. The company had a trading volume of 401,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 797,343. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.27 and a beta of 1.29. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $37.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.27. BankUnited has a 1-year low of $28.21 and a 1-year high of $44.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $273.93 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.17 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 13.19%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.72 EPS. On average, analysts predict that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas J. Pauls sold 3,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.79, for a total transaction of $135,765.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 43,205 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,675,921.95. This represents a 7.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,942 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.81, for a total value 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. The trade was a 9.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in BankUnited by 32.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 562,417 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,467,000 after buying an additional 136,343 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,032,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 79,257 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $3,025,000 after acquiring an additional 21,321 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. increased its stake in BankUnited by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 10,167 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $388,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in BankUnited by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 286,475 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,933,000 after purchasing an additional 64,803 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.70% of the company's stock.

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.