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

Key Points

• Analysts give United Community Banks a consensus rating of Moderate Buy (four buy, four hold) with an average 12‑month price target of $38.40.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.70, meeting estimates, with revenue up 11.6% year‑over‑year to $277.3 million and a net margin of 22.05%.
• United Community Banks pays an annualized dividend of $1.00 (a 3.0% yield) and trades at a P/E of 12.33 with a market capitalization around $4.01 billion.

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $38.40.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Hovde Group decreased their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson restated a "buy" rating and issued a $39.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stephens raised their target price on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered United Community Banks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded United Community Banks from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of United Community Banks stock opened at $33.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $32.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.15. United Community Banks has a 52 week low of $27.23 and a 52 week high of $36.77.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The firm had revenue of $277.30 million during the quarter. United Community Banks had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that United Community Banks will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.76%.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total transaction of $49,965.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,796,005.73. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UCB. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the third quarter worth $27,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 196.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 992 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other 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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