Brokerages Set United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Target Price at $38.40

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.80.

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on UCB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 84,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,796,005.73. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in United Community Banks by 196.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. First Horizon Corp grew its stake in United Community Banks by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE UCB opened at $34.91 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $34.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.47. United Community Banks has a 52-week low of $28.65 and a 52-week high of $37.18.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $279.28 million for the quarter. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 24.43%. Sell-side analysts expect that United Community Banks will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

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.