United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) Receives Average Rating of "Hold" from Brokerages

Key Points

• United Community Banks, Inc. has received an average recommendation of "Hold" from seven brokerage firms, with four recommending hold and three providing buy ratings.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25, an increase from the previous $0.24, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.1%.
• In its latest earnings report, United Community Banks reported $0.66 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and reflecting a 6.1% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.

United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Hold" from the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $34.5714.

UCB has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Hovde Group upped their price objective on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price objective on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of United Community Banks stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $33.41. The company's stock had a trading volume of 663,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 709,819. United Community Banks has a one year low of $22.93 and a one year high of $35.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The firm has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 0.83. The business's fifty day moving average price is $31.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.33.

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 16.48%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Community Banks will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from United Community Banks's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.94, for a total value of $49,999.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 78,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,425,541.30. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $926,000. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $957,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $16,721,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $132,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $460,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Community Banks Company Profile

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.