BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Upgraded by Wells Fargo & Company to “Overweight” Rating

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm presently has a $48.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $38.00. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 20.63% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on BankUnited from $34.50 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on BankUnited from $33.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Citigroup lowered their price target on BankUnited from $42.00 to $39.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on BankUnited from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $37.40.

BankUnited Stock Performance

Shares of BKU opened at $39.79 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.97 billion, a PE ratio of 16.31 and a beta of 1.33. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $36.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.41. BankUnited has a 12-month low of $22.16 and a 12-month high of $41.32.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.07. BankUnited had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 9.06%. The firm had revenue of $515.24 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.65 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that BankUnited will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.11, for a total transaction of $421,527.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,911,000. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the third quarter valued at $443,000. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 23.7% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 308,212 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,231,000 after buying an additional 59,029 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the third quarter valued at $434,000. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 70.0% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 29,879 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,089,000 after buying an additional 12,301 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of BankUnited by 18.2% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 58,619 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,136,000 after buying an additional 9,010 shares during the period. 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.