United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on UCB. Weiss Ratings raised United Community Banks from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. TD Cowen raised shares of United Community Banks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, United Community Banks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $39.40.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

UCB opened at $35.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. United Community Banks has a 1-year low of $28.65 and a 1-year high of $37.18. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $35.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.83.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.09). United Community Banks had a net margin of 24.43% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The firm had revenue of $279.28 million for the quarter. Research analysts predict that United Community Banks will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $49,968.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,228 shares in the company, valued at $2,920,470.52. The trade was a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.41, for a total transaction of $885,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,325,502.53. This trade represents a 40.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Community Banks

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UCB. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 2.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,520,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,315,000 after buying an additional 182,397 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 3,935.4% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 5,578,047 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,734,000 after buying an additional 5,439,820 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the second quarter valued at $55,195,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at $48,450,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the first quarter valued at $34,183,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc is the bank holding company for United Community Bank, a regional financial institution headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. Founded in 1950, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions across the Southeastern United States.

United Community Bank offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, mortgages, treasury management and other financial services.