United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $35.95 and last traded at $35.0650, with a volume of 151360 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.99.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UCB shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Stephens raised their price objective on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their target price on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.62.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last posted its 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). The firm had revenue of $278.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $273.80 million. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 21.35%.The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.31%.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,096 shares in the company, valued at $745,954.56. This represents a 36.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth $1,153,000. Danske Bank A S grew its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 39.4% in the fourth quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 4,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in United Community Banks by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 117,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,681,000 after purchasing an additional 7,037 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D boosted its holdings in United Community Banks by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 73,488 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,294,000 after purchasing an additional 5,509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Company Profile

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.