Analysts Set United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Target Price at $38.40

Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.40.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on UCB. Hovde Group reduced their target price on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Zacks Research lowered United Community Banks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Community Banks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total transaction of $49,965.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 84,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,796,005.73. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UCB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $48,450,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in United Community Banks during the first quarter valued at about $34,183,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Community Banks by 70.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,380,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,103,000 after purchasing an additional 571,296 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of United Community Banks by 125.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 774,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,286,000 after purchasing an additional 431,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the third quarter valued at about $13,423,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Community Banks Price Performance

UCB opened at $32.24 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $32.90 and a 200-day moving average of $32.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.82. United Community Banks has a 12-month low of $27.23 and a 12-month high of $36.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The company had revenue of $278.27 million during the quarter. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 22.05%.United Community Banks’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.58 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that United Community Banks will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.76%.

United Community Banks Company Profile

United Community Banks, Inc (NYSE: UCB) is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. It operates primarily through its subsidiary, United Community Bank, providing a broad range of banking and financial services to individual, business and governmental customers. The company’s core offerings include deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, treasury and cash management services, and wealth management.

In addition to traditional banking products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, United Community Bank specializes in commercial real estate financing, small business administration (SBA) loans, equipment financing and agricultural lending.