United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $39.60
by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets DailyUnited Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB – Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eight ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $39.60.
Several analysts recently commented on UCB shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective 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. DA Davidson increased their target price on United Community Banks from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Community Banks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on United Community Banks from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th.
Read Our Latest Research Report on UCB
Insider Transactions at United Community Banks
In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of the firm’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 value of $49,968.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,228 shares in the company, valued at $2,920,470.52. This trade represents a 1.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jefferson 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 value of $885,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,433 shares in the company, valued at $1,325,502.53. The trade was a 40.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of United Community Banks
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in United Community Banks during the second quarter valued at $55,195,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $48,450,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in United Community Banks during the first quarter worth about $34,183,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 32.3% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 766,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,140,000 after purchasing an additional 187,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised 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 valued at $205,315,000 after purchasing an additional 182,397 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.
United Community Banks Price Performance
Shares of United Community Banks stock opened at $34.12 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $35.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $34.05. United Community Banks has a fifty-two week low of $28.65 and a fifty-two week high of $37.18. The company has a market cap of $4.11 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22 and a beta of 0.88.
United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $279.28 million for the quarter. Analysts expect that United Community Banks will post 2.98 EPS for the current year.
United Community Banks Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is a boost from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is currently 34.21%.
About United Community Banks
United Community Banks, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina. Through its subsidiary, United Community Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and municipalities across the southeastern United States.
United Community Bank offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer lending, business lending and treasury-management services. Its services also include wealth management, investment advisory and trust solutions, as well as online and mobile banking.
The company traces its history to 1950, when its banking operations were established in Blairsville, Georgia.
Featured Stories
- Five stocks we like better than United Community Banks
- AST SpaceMobile’s BlueBird Progress Comes With Several Risks Still Unresolved
- Time to Nibble on MCD Stock After it Enters Oversold Territory?
- McCormick Stock Trades Cheap, Offers Dividend Growth and Unilever Deal Upside
- Corning and AT&T’s $3 Billion Fiber Deal Reveals Where AI Spending Goes Next