United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.40.

UCB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Community Banks from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Hovde Group reduced their price target on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Community Banks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded United Community Banks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th.

United Community Banks Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:UCB opened at $33.35 on Thursday. United Community Banks has a 1 year low of $27.23 and a 1 year high of $36.77. The company has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $32.64 and its 200 day moving average is $32.53.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 22.05%.The company had revenue of $278.27 million for the quarter. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that United Community Banks will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is currently 36.76%.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total transaction of $49,965.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 84,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,796,005.73. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its position in United Community Banks by 196.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. First Horizon Corp boosted its position in United Community Banks by 51.7% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About United Community Banks

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.