BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Price Target Raised to $43.00

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $42.00 to $43.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 8.14% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on BKU. Compass Point increased their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.40.

BankUnited Trading Up 0.4 %

BKU stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $39.77. The stock had a trading volume of 132,736 shares, compared to its average volume of 791,985. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 1.38. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $39.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. BankUnited has a 1-year low of $24.34 and a 1-year high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 8.09%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that BankUnited will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total value of $421,527.58. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,911,000. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total transaction of $102,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,687 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,428,410.66. This trade represents a 6.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 182.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 547 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in BankUnited in the fourth quarter worth about $113,000. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of BankUnited by 118.3% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,208 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $153,000 after buying an additional 2,280 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 87.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,028 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in BankUnited during the second quarter valued at approximately $169,000. 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.