Insider Selling: United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) EVP Sells 25,000 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Executive insider sale: EVP Jefferson Harralson sold 25,000 United Community Banks shares for approximately $885,250, reducing his direct ownership by 40.04% to 37,433 shares.
• Stock and earnings: UCB shares rose 1.4% to $35.66, but the company’s latest quarterly EPS of $0.71 missed analysts’ $0.80 consensus estimate. Revenue totaled $279.28 million.
• Investor outlook: United Community Banks maintains a $0.25 quarterly dividend, equal to a 2.8% yield, while analysts assign the stock a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average $38.80 price target.

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) EVP Jefferson Harralson sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.41, for a total value of $885,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,325,502.53. The trade was a 40.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

United Community Banks Stock Up 1.4%

UCB traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $35.66. 782,244 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 924,182. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.52. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $28.65 and a 1 year high of $37.18.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.09). United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 24.43%.The firm had revenue of $279.28 million during the quarter. As a group, research analysts anticipate that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. TD Cowen raised United Community Banks to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Stephens lifted their price target on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Hovde Group reduced their price objective on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.80.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth $48,450,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 1st quarter worth $34,183,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Community Banks by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,380,627 shares of the company's stock worth $43,103,000 after acquiring an additional 571,296 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in United Community Banks by 125.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 774,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,286,000 after acquiring an additional 431,491 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its stake in United Community Banks by 105.9% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 766,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,031,000 after acquiring an additional 394,263 shares during the period. 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.

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