Brokerages Set United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Price Target at $38.80

Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.80.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on UCB shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Community Banks from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of United Community Banks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total value of $49,968.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,470.52. This trade represents a 1.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jefferson Harralson sold 25,000 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.41, for a total value of $885,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,325,502.53. This trade represents a 40.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its position in United Community Banks by 3,935.4% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,578,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,734,000 after purchasing an additional 5,439,820 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the 2nd quarter worth about $55,195,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth about $48,450,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 1st quarter worth about $34,183,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,380,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,103,000 after acquiring an additional 571,296 shares in the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Community Banks Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UCB opened at $35.64 on Friday. United Community Banks has a 52 week low of $28.65 and a 52 week high of $37.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company’s fifty day moving average is $35.60 and its 200-day moving average is $33.78. The company has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.81.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Equities research analysts predict that United Community Banks will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This is a boost from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

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.