Brokerages Set United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Target Price at $38.00

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $38.00.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on UCB shares. Hovde Group cut shares of United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Stephens upped their price objective on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Community Banks from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th.

United Community Banks Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE UCB opened at $29.91 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.84. United Community Banks has a 52 week low of $22.93 and a 52 week high of $36.77.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.02). United Community Banks had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.49%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.61 earnings per share. United Community Banks’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

United Community Banks announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, December 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is 38.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Community Banks news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $425,840.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 21,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,954.56. This trade represents a 36.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Community Banks

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in United Community Banks by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN grew its stake 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 valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. 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.