United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Upgraded at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on UCB. Hovde Group lowered 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. Stephens increased their price target on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings raised United Community Banks from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.40.

United Community Banks Price Performance

United Community Banks stock opened at $36.41 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. United Community Banks has a 52-week low of $28.65 and a 52-week high of $37.18. The firm has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50 day moving average is $33.98 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.35.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. United Community Banks had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The business had revenue of $278.26 million during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that United Community Banks will post 3.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is 36.76%.

Insider Activity at United Community Banks

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 represents 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. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Community Banks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 196.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. First Horizon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 51.7% in the 4th 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 position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.