United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• United Community Banks received an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from eight research firms, with an average 12-month price target of $38.40.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.70, matching expectations, while revenue rose 11.6% year over year to $278.27 million.
• United Community Banks announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, which annualizes to $1.00 and implies a 3.0% yield.

Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eight research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $38.40.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on UCB shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Community Banks from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Stephens raised their price target on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Zacks Research downgraded United Community Banks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th.

United Community Banks Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE UCB opened at $33.35 on Thursday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $32.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.53. United Community Banks has a twelve month low of $27.23 and a twelve month high of $36.77. 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 market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.83.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 22.05%.The business had revenue of $278.27 million for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that United Community Banks will post 2.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. United Community Banks's payout ratio is currently 36.76%.

Insider Activity at United Community Banks

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total value of $49,965.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 84,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,796,005.73. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,955 shares of the company's stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 17,808 shares of the company's stock worth $556,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 11,761 shares of the company's stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,880 shares of the company's stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the period. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 8,266 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company's stock.

United Community Banks Company Profile

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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