United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.00.

Several brokerages have commented on UCB. DA Davidson raised their price objective on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Hovde Group downgraded United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Stephens increased their target price on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In related news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total value of $425,840.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,954.56. This trade represents a 36.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Community Banks

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of United Community Banks by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,805,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,362,000 after purchasing an additional 124,347 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $213,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its stake in United Community Banks by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 82,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,847,000 after purchasing an additional 13,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at $121,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Community Banks Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of United Community Banks stock opened at $29.72 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. United Community Banks has a fifty-two week low of $22.93 and a fifty-two week high of $36.77. The company has a market cap of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 0.84.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.02). United Community Banks had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS.

United Community Banks announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, December 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.31%.

About United Community Banks

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.