United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on United Community Banks, with four buy ratings, three holds, and one strong buy. The average 12-month price target is $38.80 versus the stock’s recent price of $35.64.
• United Community Banks reported quarterly EPS of $0.71, missing the $0.80 consensus estimate, while revenue totaled $279.28 million. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26 per share, implying a 2.9% annualized yield.
• Two executives recently sold shares, including EVP Jefferson L. Harralson’s $885,250 transaction, while institutional investors own 82.29% of the stock. Shares trade near their 50-day average and below the 12-month high of $37.18.

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.80.

UCB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut United Community Banks from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. TD Cowen raised United Community Banks to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $37.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,502.53. This represents a 40.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 1.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in United Community Banks by 7.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 55,319 shares of the company's stock worth $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,617 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 176.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,530 shares of the company's stock valued at $746,000 after acquiring an additional 16,925 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,211 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,003,000 after acquiring an additional 3,115 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the first quarter valued at approximately $219,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the first quarter worth approximately $204,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of UCB opened at $35.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $35.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.78. United Community Banks has a 12 month low of $28.65 and a 12 month high of $37.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 0.81.

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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $279.28 million during the quarter. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 24.43%. As a group, analysts predict that United Community Banks will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from United Community Banks's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. United Community Banks's payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

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.

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