United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Earns “Buy” Rating from DA Davidson

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by research analysts at DA Davidson in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $40.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 14.59% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Hovde Group dropped their target price on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised United Community Banks from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. TD Cowen raised shares of United Community Banks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Community Banks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.80.

United Community Banks Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of UCB opened at $34.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $34.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.81. United Community Banks has a fifty-two week low of $28.65 and a fifty-two week high of $37.18.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 24.43%.The business had revenue of $279.28 million for the quarter. As a group, analysts forecast that United Community Banks will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total value of $49,965.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 84,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,796,005.73. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Community Banks

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in United Community Banks by 196.1% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the period. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. First Horizon Corp lifted its position in United Community Banks by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.