United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Receives $35.40 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seven research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $35.40.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,654 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.23, for a total transaction of $50,000.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,226 shares in the company, valued at $2,274,081.98. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in United Community Banks in the first quarter worth $26,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in United Community Banks in the third quarter worth $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in United Community Banks by 213.8% in the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the third quarter valued at $37,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Community Banks Price Performance

UCB opened at $31.42 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.89 and a 200-day moving average of $31.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. United Community Banks has a 1-year low of $22.93 and a 1-year high of $34.57.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $276.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.85 million. United Community Banks had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 9.42%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share.

United Community Banks declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is currently 39.68%.

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.