Barclays Lowers BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Price Target to $38.00

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its price target cut by equities researchers at Barclays from $44.00 to $38.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s target price points to a potential upside of 29.83% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also commented on BKU. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. StockNews.com cut BankUnited from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of BankUnited from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $42.91.

BankUnited Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of BKU traded down $0.56 on Tuesday, hitting $29.27. 506,777 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 770,295. BankUnited has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $44.45. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $36.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $113,772.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,955. The trade was a 20.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sanjiv Sobti acquired 2,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.07 per share, for a total transaction of $64,140.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 20,782 shares in the company, valued at $666,478.74. The trade was a 10.65 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 547 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in BankUnited by 42.3% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,380 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 410 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in BankUnited by 165.5% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,885 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in BankUnited during the fourth quarter valued at $73,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in BankUnited by 270.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 1,407 shares during the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.