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

Key Points

• United Community Banks has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, based on seven brokerages: four buy ratings and three hold ratings. The average 1-year price target is $38.40.
• The stock recently traded near its high, opening at $37.04 versus a 52-week range of $28.65 to $37.18. It also has a relatively low debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03 and a market cap of about $4.43 billion.
• The company’s latest quarterly results matched expectations, with $0.70 EPS on revenue of $278.26 million, up 11.6% year over year. United Community Banks also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, or $1.00 annually, for a yield of 2.7%.

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.40.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UCB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Community Banks from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. DA Davidson increased their target price on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Hovde Group reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on United Community Banks from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

NYSE:UCB opened at $37.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $33.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.33. United Community Banks 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. United Community Banks had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $278.26 million during the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Community Banks will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. United Community Banks's payout ratio is presently 36.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,796,005.73. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

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

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.