Brokerages Set United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) PT at $35.33

Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $35.3333.

UCB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Hovde Group upped their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised United Community Banks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,654 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.23, for a total transaction of $50,000.42. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,274,081.98. This trade represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of United Community Banks by 213.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

UCB stock opened at $30.27 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.92. United Community Banks has a fifty-two week low of $22.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.05. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.42% and a net margin of 20.67%.The company had revenue of $276.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.85 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.68%.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc operates as the financial holding company for United Community Bank that provides financial products and services to commercial, retail, government, education, energy, health care, and real estate sectors. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts.