United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $40.00

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) has received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eight analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $40.00.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Friday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised United Community Banks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on United Community Banks from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on United Community Banks from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th.

United Community Banks Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of UCB opened at $36.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $34.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.01. United Community Banks has a 1-year low of $28.65 and a 1-year high of $37.45.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The company had revenue of $291.90 million for the quarter. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Community Banks will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This is a positive change from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,345 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.17, for a total transaction of $49,993.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 82,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,049,947.18. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Community Banks

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,520,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,315,000 after purchasing an additional 182,397 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the second quarter valued at $55,195,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 32.3% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 766,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,140,000 after acquiring an additional 187,210 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of United Community Banks by 27.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 747,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,541,000 after purchasing an additional 161,848 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of United Community Banks by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 446,292 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,054,000 after purchasing an additional 40,782 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, United Community Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to consumers, businesses and communities primarily across the Southeastern United States.

United Community Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, residential mortgages, credit cards, online and mobile banking, treasury management and other financial services. Its lending activities include commercial real estate, business, construction, residential and consumer loans.