Wells Fargo & Company Raises BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Price Target to $50.00

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $48.00 to $50.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the financial services provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's price target would suggest a potential upside of 25.32% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on BKU. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and set a $37.00 target price on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays reduced 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 report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Compass Point upped their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $43.40.

BankUnited Price Performance

BankUnited stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 793,977 shares, compared to its average volume of 839,898. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 1.38. BankUnited has a twelve month low of $24.34 and a twelve month high of $44.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $39.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 8.09% and a net margin of 9.06%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. Research analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 2.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BankUnited news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total value of $102,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 34,687 shares in the company, valued at $1,428,410.66. The trade was a 6.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.19% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EMC Capital Management boosted its stake in BankUnited by 162.6% during the fourth quarter. EMC Capital Management now owns 9,915 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 6,139 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in BankUnited by 87.8% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 4,028 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 1,883 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in BankUnited by 182.3% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 462.0% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 27,955 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,067,000 after acquiring an additional 22,981 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.