BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

BankUnited, Inc. (NYSE:BKU)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $41.35 and last traded at $41.34, with a volume of 50792 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $39.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on BKU. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $34.50 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of BankUnited from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $38.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Two equities 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $37.40.

BankUnited Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 1.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $36.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.51.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $515.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $258.65 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 9.06%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that BankUnited, Inc. will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

BankUnited Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Friday, October 11th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 11th. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other BankUnited news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,911,000. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.19% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKU. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,632 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in BankUnited in the 1st quarter worth $57,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 112,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,160,000 after buying an additional 906 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 15,002 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 48.2% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 31,481 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $881,000 after purchasing an additional 10,240 shares in the last quarter. 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.