BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Price Target Lowered to $42.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $50.00 to $42.00 in a report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Compass Point lifted their target price on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Hovde Group dropped their price target on BankUnited from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on BankUnited from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on BankUnited from $44.00 to $38.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded BankUnited from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $42.18.

BankUnited Stock Down 9.7 %

NYSE:BKU traded down $3.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $29.23. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 204,057 shares, compared to its average volume of 818,420. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $35.91 and a 200-day moving average of $37.67. BankUnited has a 52-week low of $24.34 and a 52-week high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 3.13 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 11th. This is an increase from BankUnited’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. BankUnited’s payout ratio is 40.26%.

Insider Activity at BankUnited

In related news, Director Sanjiv Sobti bought 1,000 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.83 per share, with a total value 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Kevin A. Malcolm sold 3,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $113,772.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,955. The trade was a 20.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On BankUnited

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,063 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $193,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,802 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of BankUnited by 182.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 847 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in BankUnited by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $314,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the last quarter. 99.70% of the stock is 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.