United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.80.

Several research firms recently commented on UCB. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of United Community Banks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Community Banks from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd.

United Community Banks Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of UCB stock opened at $36.78 on Tuesday. United Community Banks has a twelve month low of $28.65 and a twelve month high of $37.18. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.82.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last posted its earnings results 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 during the quarter. United Community Banks had a net margin of 24.43% and a return on equity of 9.61%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Community Banks will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This is a positive change from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In other news, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.41, for a total transaction of $885,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,502.53. This trade represents a 40.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,470.52. This represents a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Community Banks

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Ruffer LLP acquired a new stake in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,053,000. Horizon Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,153,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth $1,941,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 365.9% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 114,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,615,000 after purchasing an additional 90,234 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in United Community Banks by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,316,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,449,000 after purchasing an additional 103,891 shares during the period. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.