United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. 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. Finally, Hovde Group reduced their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Community Banks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.40.

United Community Banks Trading Up 2.9%

NYSE:UCB opened at $37.04 on Thursday. United Community Banks has a 1 year low of $28.65 and a 1 year high of $37.18. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.33.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The business had revenue of $278.26 million for the quarter. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 22.05%.United Community Banks’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Community Banks will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is currently 36.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,796,005.73. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in United Community Banks by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 13.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 17,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 11,761 shares of the company’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.