United Community Banks’ (UCB) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at DA Davidson

DA Davidson reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. DA Davidson currently has a $40.00 price target on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Community Banks from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen cut United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. TD Cowen raised United Community Banks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Community Banks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.80.

United Community Banks Stock Up 0.9%

UCB stock opened at $35.19 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.49. The company has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. United Community Banks has a 12 month low of $28.65 and a 12 month high of $37.18.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.09). United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 24.43%.The business had revenue of $279.28 million for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that United Community Banks will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.89%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Community Banks

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Covestor Ltd grew its position in shares of United Community Banks by 196.1% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. First Horizon Corp lifted its position in United Community Banks by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.