United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

UCB has been the topic of several other reports. Zacks Research cut shares of United Community Banks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Community Banks currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.40.

United Community Banks Price Performance

Shares of United Community Banks stock opened at $33.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 0.83. United Community Banks has a 1-year low of $27.23 and a 1-year high of $36.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $32.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.22.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The firm had revenue of $276.51 million for the quarter. United Community Banks had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 9.65%. United Community Banks’s quarterly revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that United Community Banks will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at United Community Banks

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Community Banks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in United Community Banks by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,955 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in United Community Banks by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 17,808 shares of the company’s stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in United Community Banks by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 11,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in United Community Banks by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,880 shares of the company’s stock valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Patten & Patten Inc. TN increased its stake in United Community Banks by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 8,266 shares of the company’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.