The Goldman Sachs Group Issues Positive Forecast for BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Stock Price

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) had its target price upped by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $36.00 to $42.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "sell" rating on the financial services provider's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 1.59% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wedbush upped their target price on BankUnited from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of BankUnited from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $38.00 to $48.00 in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $38.70.

BankUnited Trading Down 1.2 %

BankUnited stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $42.68. The stock had a trading volume of 515,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,964. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $37.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.25. BankUnited has a 52 week low of $24.34 and a 52 week high of $44.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 17.67 and a beta of 1.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.07. BankUnited had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 8.09%. The company had revenue of $515.24 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.65 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 2.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total value of $421,527.58. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total transaction of $102,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,410.66. This trade represents a 6.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 34,582 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 20,821 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $609,000 after purchasing an additional 379 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of BankUnited by 1.0% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 48,005 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of BankUnited by 17.4% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,637 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $169,000 after purchasing an additional 686 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 37,600 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,101,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. 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.