JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Price Target to $34.50

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $33.00 to $34.50 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on BankUnited from $33.00 to $31.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of BankUnited from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of BankUnited from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $29.00 to $30.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and eight have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $30.75.

BankUnited Price Performance

BankUnited stock opened at $29.27 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.48, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 1.33. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.35. BankUnited has a 1 year low of $20.84 and a 1 year high of $34.22.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.62 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $508.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $239.84 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.06% and a net margin of 8.71%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.70 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 2.78 earnings per share for the current year.

BankUnited Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 12th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. BankUnited’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insider Transactions at BankUnited

In related news, Director John N. Digiacomo sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.28, for a total transaction of $43,920.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $394,752.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in BankUnited in the 4th quarter worth $1,329,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of BankUnited by 41.8% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 179,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,810,000 after purchasing an additional 52,788 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited during the fourth quarter worth about $1,331,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in BankUnited by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 935,237 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,330,000 after buying an additional 136,291 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wolverine Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in BankUnited by 11,419.0% in the 4th quarter. Wolverine Asset Management LLC now owns 11,519 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 11,419 shares during the period. 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.