Wall Street Zen Downgrades BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) to Sell

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded BankUnited (BKU) from a "hold" to a "sell," though the MarketBeat consensus remains a "Hold" with a $53.27 target amid mixed analyst ratings (7 Buys, 6 Holds, 1 Sell).
• Recent quarter missed expectations: BKU reported $0.83 EPS versus $0.97 expected and revenue of $273.7M versus $284.6M, with a 9.11% return on equity and a 14.46% net margin.
• Notable insider selling and heavy institutional ownership: insiders sold 11,953 shares (~$591K) over the last 90 days and own 1.0% of the stock, while institutions (e.g., Dimensional, State Street) hold about 99.70% of shares.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

BKU has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of BankUnited from $53.00 to $50.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $50.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Hovde Group reduced their target price on shares of BankUnited from $57.00 to $53.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of BankUnited from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $53.27.

BankUnited Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of BKU opened at $46.55 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. BankUnited has a twelve month low of $32.97 and a twelve month high of $52.11. The firm's 50-day moving average is $45.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.77.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.97 by ($0.14). BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.11% and a net margin of 14.46%.The company had revenue of $273.69 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $284.57 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.78 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that BankUnited will post 4.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jay D. Richards sold 3,506 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.83, for a total transaction of $174,703.98. Following the sale, the insider owned 35,687 shares in the company, valued at $1,778,283.21. The trade was a 8.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,447 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.11, for a total transaction of $162,388.17. Following the sale, the insider owned 11,500 shares in the company, valued at $541,765. This represents a 23.06% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,953 shares of company stock worth $591,492 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in BankUnited by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,632,552 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $206,472,000 after purchasing an additional 36,097 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,437,792 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $197,792,000 after buying an additional 149,450 shares during the period. HoldCo Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 277.3% during the 4th quarter. HoldCo Asset Management LP now owns 3,535,282 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $157,568,000 after buying an additional 2,598,382 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,155,793 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $140,654,000 after buying an additional 84,971 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,163,936 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $82,576,000 after purchasing an additional 185,937 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BankUnited

BankUnited, Inc is a bank holding company based in Miami Lakes, Florida, operating through its subsidiary BankUnited, National Association. The company provides a broad range of commercial banking products and services, including deposit accounts, commercial lending and treasury management. It serves middle-market and small-business clients, offering tailored financing solutions across a variety of industry sectors.

The bank's lending portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans and construction financing, as well as residential mortgage lending.

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