United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Hits New 1-Year High - What's Next?

Key Points

• United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $36.77 and last near $36.88.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but generally positive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $38.40, while recent upgrades from DA Davidson and KBW lifted targets to $40.
• The company reported Q1 EPS of $0.70, matching estimates, with revenue up 11.6% year over year; it also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equal to a 2.7% annualized yield.

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $36.77 and last traded at $36.8820, with a volume of 82167 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.00.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UCB. DA Davidson raised their price objective on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Community Banks from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Community Banks from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Hovde Group reduced their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.40.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.61 and a beta of 0.81.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. The company had revenue of $278.26 million for the quarter. United Community Banks had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The firm's revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Community Banks

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at $48,450,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the first quarter worth $34,183,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Community Banks by 70.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,380,627 shares of the company's stock worth $43,103,000 after buying an additional 571,296 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 125.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 774,660 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,286,000 after buying an additional 431,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 105.9% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 766,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,031,000 after buying an additional 394,263 shares during the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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