BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Upgraded at StockNews.com

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) was upgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays lowered their target price on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Compass Point upped their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, BankUnited has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.18.

BankUnited Price Performance

BankUnited stock opened at $32.47 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $38.71 and its 200 day moving average is $38.27. BankUnited has a one year low of $24.34 and a one year high of $44.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.54 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.72 by $0.19. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 11.48%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In other BankUnited news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at $430,955. This represents a 20.89 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BKU. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in BankUnited by 182.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in BankUnited by 42.3% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in BankUnited by 270.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 1,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth about $113,000. Institutional investors own 99.70% of the company’s stock.

BankUnited Company Profile

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.