United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Receives $38.40 Average Target Price from Brokerages

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.40.

UCB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Community Banks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Hovde Group decreased 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. DA Davidson upped their target price on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on United Community Banks from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total transaction of $49,965.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 84,497 shares in the company, valued at $2,796,005.73. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Community Banks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in United Community Banks by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in United Community Banks by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 17,808 shares of the company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in United Community Banks by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 11,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in United Community Banks by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN boosted its stake in United Community Banks by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 8,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

United Community Banks stock opened at $34.48 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.95. United Community Banks has a twelve month low of $28.65 and a twelve month high of $36.77.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The business had revenue of $278.27 million during the quarter. United Community Banks had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that United Community Banks will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. United Community Banks’s payout ratio 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.