United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Price Target Raised to $41.00

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) had its price target increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $40.00 to $41.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on UCB. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Community Banks from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded United Community Banks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on United Community Banks from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded United Community Banks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Community Banks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $39.60.

United Community Banks Stock Up 0.2%

United Community Banks stock opened at $34.71 on Wednesday. United Community Banks has a 1-year low of $28.65 and a 1-year high of $37.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $33.87.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.09). United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 24.43%.The company had revenue of $279.28 million for the quarter. On average, analysts predict that United Community Banks will post 2.98 earnings per share for the current year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. This is a boost from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.41, for a total transaction of $885,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was 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 represents a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UCB. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in United Community Banks by 196.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in United Community Banks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth $62,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Company Profile

United Community Banks, Inc is the bank holding company for United Community Bank, a regional financial institution headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. Founded in 1950, the company provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions across the Southeastern United States.

United Community Bank offers consumer and commercial deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, business loans, mortgages, treasury management and other financial services.