United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) EVP Richard Bradshaw Sells 1,510 Shares

Key Points

• EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares on April 27 at an average price of $33.09 for about $49,965.90, reducing his stake by 1.76% to 84,497 shares, as disclosed in an SEC filing.
• United Community Banks reported quarterly EPS of $0.70, meeting estimates, with revenue of $277.3 million (up 11.6% year-over-year), a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 22.05%.
• The company pays a $0.25 quarterly dividend (annualized $1.00, ~3.0% yield) and has a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy with a $38.40 price target while trading near $33.65 (P/E 12.37, market cap ~$4.03B).

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total value of $49,965.90. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of UCB traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $33.65. The stock had a trading volume of 715,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 926,931. The firm has a market cap of $4.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $32.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $26.88 and a 52 week high of $36.77.

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

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in United Community Banks by 3.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its position in United Community Banks by 2.0% during 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 in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in United Community Banks by 3.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in United Community Banks by 10.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its position in United Community Banks by 4.8% during 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 in the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. 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 boosted their target price on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Community Banks from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Hovde Group lowered their target price on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, United Community Banks presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.40.

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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