Raymond James Financial Upgrades BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) to “Moderate Buy”

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) was upgraded by investment analysts at Raymond James Financial to a “moderate buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on BKU. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 target price on shares of BankUnited in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $42.00 to $55.00 in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of BankUnited from $43.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of BankUnited from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, BankUnited currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.

BankUnited Stock Performance

BKU stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $46.54. 26,903 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 775,832. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $43.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.08. BankUnited has a 52 week low of $28.21 and a 52 week high of $46.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 1.30.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.11. BankUnited had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 13.98%.The business had revenue of $275.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $280.33 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.81 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that BankUnited will post 3.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On BankUnited

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in BankUnited in the first quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of BankUnited in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Quarry LP grew its stake in BankUnited by 158.2% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 940 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 576 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its stake in BankUnited by 32.3% in the second quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,111 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of BankUnited by 202.0% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,217 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 814 shares during the period. 99.70% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About BankUnited

BankUnited, Inc is a bank holding company based in Miami Lakes, Florida, operating through its subsidiary BankUnited, National Association. The company provides a broad range of commercial banking products and services, including deposit accounts, commercial lending and treasury management. It serves middle-market and small-business clients, offering tailored financing solutions across a variety of industry sectors.

The bank’s lending portfolio includes commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate loans and construction financing, as well as residential mortgage lending.