United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded United Community Banks from “sell” to “hold,” while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $39.40.
• UCB shares opened at $35.30, near their 52-week high of $37.18. The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.71, missing the $0.80 consensus estimate, on revenue of $279.28 million.
• Insiders recently sold shares, including an executive vice president’s $885,250 transaction, while institutional investors own a substantial 82.29% of the stock.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen upgraded United Community Banks to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $39.40.

United Community Banks Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE UCB opened at $35.30 on Friday. United Community Banks has a fifty-two week low of $28.65 and a fifty-two 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 has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.81. The business's 50 day moving average price is $35.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.81.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $279.28 million for the quarter. United Community Banks had a net margin of 24.43% and a return on equity of 9.61%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Community Banks will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.41, for a total transaction of $885,250.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 37,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,325,502.53. This represents a 40.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 $2,920,470.52. The trade was a 1.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in United Community Banks by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,520,132 shares of the company's stock worth $205,315,000 after acquiring an additional 182,397 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 3,935.4% in the 2nd 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. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,805,308 shares of the company's stock worth $56,362,000 after purchasing an additional 124,347 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,195,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,450,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc is the bank holding company for United Community Bank, a regional financial institution headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. Founded in 1950, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions across the Southeastern United States.

United Community Bank offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, mortgages, treasury management and other financial services.

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