Royal Bank of Canada Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) Stock

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) had its price objective upped by Royal Bank of Canada from $42.00 to $43.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “sector perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 5.41% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on BKU. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on BankUnited from $48.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on BankUnited from $36.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Compass Point raised their price objective on BankUnited from $42.00 to $49.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays decreased their price objective on BankUnited from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on BankUnited from $38.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, BankUnited has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $43.40.

BankUnited Price Performance

BKU stock opened at $40.80 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.57. The stock has a market cap of $3.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 1.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. BankUnited has a 1 year low of $24.34 and a 1 year high of $44.45.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Thomas M. Cornish sold 10,778 shares of BankUnited stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,911,000. The trade was a 9.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jay D. Richards sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.18, for a total transaction of $102,950.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,687 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,428,410.66. The trade was a 6.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of BankUnited

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in BankUnited in the third quarter valued at $443,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in BankUnited in the second quarter valued at $515,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 211.5% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 59,594 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,172,000 after buying an additional 40,461 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC acquired a new position in BankUnited in the third quarter valued at $347,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in BankUnited by 7.2% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 41,438 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,213,000 after buying an additional 2,778 shares during the period. 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.