BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday.

BKU has been the subject of several other research reports. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $34.00 to $31.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a sector perform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Friday, March 8th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $29.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BankUnited currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $30.50.

BankUnited Stock Up 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BKU opened at $27.70 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48. BankUnited has a 52-week low of $15.83 and a 52-week high of $34.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $26.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $27.34. The company has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 1.36.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.02. BankUnited had a net margin of 8.71% and a return on equity of 8.06%. The company had revenue of $508.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $239.84 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 12th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 11th. This is an increase from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. BankUnited’s payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BankUnited news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 2,285 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.18, for a total value of $62,106.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $319,365. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wolverine Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 11,419.0% during the fourth quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 11,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $374,000 after acquiring an additional 11,419 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 24.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 124,072 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,042,000 after acquiring an additional 24,498 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 23.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,539,176 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,939,000 after acquiring an additional 290,232 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 84.6% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 262,741 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,964,000 after acquiring an additional 120,441 shares during the period. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 129.1% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 70,116 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,592,000 after acquiring an additional 39,507 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.