United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB) Trading Up 4.1% – Should You Buy?

United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) was up 4.1% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $24.84 and last traded at $24.80. Approximately 201,551 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 659,206 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on UCB shares. Raymond James raised United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Hovde Group upgraded United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

United Community Banks Stock Up 2.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.80. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $29.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.70.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.06%.

Insider Activity at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, Director Sally Pope Davis acquired 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,742.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,012.16. This trade represents a 122.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO H Lynn Harton sold 31,679 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total value of $1,072,017.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 112,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,805,104.96. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $450,141,000. FMR LLC acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $310,166,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $195,766,000. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at $148,763,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $113,536,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc operates as the financial holding company for United Community Bank that provides financial products and services to commercial, retail, government, education, energy, health care, and real estate sectors. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts.