BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on BKU. Compass Point boosted their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $43.18.

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BankUnited Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BKU traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $34.59. 448,671 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 705,366. BankUnited has a twelve month low of $24.34 and a twelve month high of $44.45. The firm has a market cap of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 1.40. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $38.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.07. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 10th were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. BankUnited's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sanjiv Sobti acquired 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.83 per share, for a total transaction of $32,830.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 21,782 shares in the company, valued at $715,103.06. This represents a 4.81 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $113,772.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,955. This represents a 20.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 1.9% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in BankUnited by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,821,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $107,696,000 after acquiring an additional 322,368 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in BankUnited by 1.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,719,596 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,674,000 after acquiring an additional 20,218 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP grew its position in BankUnited by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 1,149,827 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $43,889,000 after acquiring an additional 36,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited during the 4th quarter worth $34,525,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.