United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, FiscalAI reports. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 24.43%. The firm had revenue of $291.90 million during the quarter.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of UCB opened at $33.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 0.88. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $34.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.31. United Community Banks has a 1 year low of $28.65 and a 1 year high of $37.18.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total value of $49,968.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,470.52. The trade was a 1.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.41, for a total value of $885,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,325,502.53. This trade represents a 40.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Community Banks

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UCB. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the second quarter worth approximately $55,195,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter valued at $34,183,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 766,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,140,000 after buying an additional 187,210 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,520,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,315,000 after buying an additional 182,397 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 747,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,541,000 after buying an additional 161,848 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on UCB. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Friday, September 25th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen raised United Community Banks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on United Community Banks from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on United Community Banks from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Community Banks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.60.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, United Community Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to consumers, businesses and communities primarily across the Southeastern United States.

United Community Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, residential mortgages, credit cards, online and mobile banking, treasury management and other financial services. Its lending activities include commercial real estate, business, construction, residential and consumer loans.