United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Hits New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after TD Cowen upgraded the stock to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $36.77 and last traded at $36.8820, with a volume of 82167 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Wall Street Zen lowered United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report 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. Hovde Group decreased 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 report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of United Community Banks 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 owned 84,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,796,005.73. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in United Community Banks by 13.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in United Community Banks by 2.0% in the fourth 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 holdings in United Community Banks by 3.2% in the fourth 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. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in United Community Banks by 10.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Trading Down 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.35. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.81.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70. The business had revenue of $278.26 million during the quarter. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 22.05%.United Community Banks’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

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

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.