Hovde Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Stock Price

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its price objective reduced by Hovde Group from $46.00 to $44.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on BKU. StockNews.com cut BankUnited from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler raised BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, BankUnited has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $43.45.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU stock opened at $35.63 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $37.97 and a 200-day moving average of $38.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.40. BankUnited has a 12 month low of $24.34 and a 12 month high of $44.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.48% and a return on equity of 8.48%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. BankUnited’s payout ratio is presently 37.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at BankUnited

In related news, Director Sanjiv Sobti acquired 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.07 per share, with a total value of $64,140.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 20,782 shares in the company, valued at $666,478.74. This trade represents a 10.65 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,598,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $366,392,000 after purchasing an additional 181,493 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in BankUnited by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,821,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $107,696,000 after purchasing an additional 322,368 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in BankUnited by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,719,596 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,674,000 after purchasing an additional 20,218 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,149,827 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $43,889,000 after buying an additional 36,328 shares during the period. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,525,000. 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.