United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Price Target Raised to $36.00

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) had its target price upped by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $34.00 to $36.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target indicates a potential upside of 7.98% from the company’s current price.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.80.

United Community Banks Stock Up 2.6%

NYSE UCB opened at $33.34 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 0.83. United Community Banks has a fifty-two week low of $22.93 and a fifty-two week high of $34.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.02). United Community Banks had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 9.42%. The business had revenue of $278.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

United Community Banks announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, December 8th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,654 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.23, for a total value of $50,000.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,274,081.98. This trade represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,061,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 125.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 774,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,286,000 after purchasing an additional 431,491 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the third quarter worth $13,423,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in United Community Banks by 105.9% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 766,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,031,000 after purchasing an additional 394,263 shares during the period. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new position in United Community Banks during the 3rd quarter worth $6,281,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

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.