Analysts Set United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Target Price at $37.50

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UCB. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens increased their price objective on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. DA Davidson raised 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th.

United Community Banks Stock Up 1.3%

NYSE:UCB opened at $34.68 on Friday. 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 50 day moving average of $32.37 and a 200-day moving average of $31.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.83. United Community Banks has a 52 week low of $22.93 and a 52 week high of $35.72.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.02). United Community Banks had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $278.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

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

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In other news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,954.56. This represents a 36.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Community Banks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Horizon Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 28,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $888,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of United Community Banks by 2.0% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 1.6% during the second quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 34,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $177,000 after purchasing an additional 586 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.