Stephens Downgrades BankUnited (BKU) to Equal Weight

The Bible records two instances of Jesus cleansing the temple of money changers and those selling sacrificial animals. Jesus’ first encounter with money changers was at the beginning of His three-year ministry (John 2:14–16). He made a whip of cords and drove them out. The second time He confronted the money changers was the week before His trial and crucifixion. Seeing that the money changers had come back, He again drove them out, saying, ““It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers’”” (Matthew 21:13).

Because Jewish law required a temple tax of a half-shekel (Exodus 30:11–16), Jews and visitors from other nations came pay their taxes when they offered their sacrifices. But foreign coins with the likeness of pagan emperors would not be accepted in God’s temple. So money changers exchanged those foreign coins for Jewish money, but they did so at an exorbitant profit. Rather than provide this service as a business in another part of town, they exploited the religious zeal of the visitors to Jerusalem and did their business on temple grounds. Because they determined their own exchange rate, money changers easily took advantage of the poor and the foreigners pouring into Jerusalem for Passover.

These same money changers were associated with others who engaged in shady business practices in the temple courts. Some sold sacrificial animals, overcharging people who did not bring their own. Others were in charge of examining the animals to be sacrificed, and it was a simple matter to declare an animal “unapproved” and force the worshiper to buy another animal—at an inflated price—from the temple vendors. Such goings-on, exploiting the poor and the foreigner, angered the Lord Jesus and was strictly forbidden in the Mosaic Law (Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:34).

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) was downgraded by equities researchers at Stephens from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 6th, Marketbeat.com reports.

BKU has been the topic of several other reports. Zacks Investment Research cut BankUnited from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 2nd. Bank of America cut BankUnited from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $34.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, January 10th. ValuEngine upgraded BankUnited from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, January 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $39.00 price objective on shares of BankUnited in a research note on Thursday, November 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on BankUnited from $38.00 to $37.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. BankUnited currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $39.75.Get BankUnited alerts: 

Shares of NYSE:BKU traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $34.41. 625,400 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 845,123. The stock has a market cap of $3.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. BankUnited has a 12 month low of $28.05 and a 12 month high of $44.97.

BankUnited (NYSE:BKU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $328.38 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $314.33 million. BankUnited had a return on equity of 10.84% and a net margin of 20.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.62 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that BankUnited will post 2.78 EPS for the current year.

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in BankUnited by 1.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,629,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,283,000 after buying an additional 174,690 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc lifted its stake in BankUnited by 1.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc now owns 10,629,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $376,283,000 after buying an additional 174,690 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in BankUnited by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. now owns 6,839,050 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $204,761,000 after buying an additional 199,026 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in BankUnited by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,554,356 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,358,000 after buying an additional 43,397 shares during the period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of BankUnited by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,415,138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $102,249,000 after purchasing an additional 32,810 shares during the period. 97.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About BankUnited

BankUnited, Inc operates as the bank holding company for BankUnited, National Association that provides a range of banking services to small and medium sized businesses, and individual and corporate customers in the United States. The company offers deposit products, such as checking, money market deposit, savings accounts, and certificates of deposit; and treasury management services.Source

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