United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $37.50 and last traded at $37.5610, with a volume of 50,127 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on UCB shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Friday, September 25th. TD Cowen raised shares of United Community Banks to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 9th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on United Community Banks from $41.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $40.00.

United Community Banks Trading Down 1.6%

The firm has a market cap of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.90 and a 200-day moving average of $34.11.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The business had revenue of $291.90 million during the quarter. United Community Banks had a net margin of 9.06% and a return on equity of 9.66%. Research analysts anticipate that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 3.01 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. This is an increase from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is 88.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,345 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.17, for a total value of $49,993.65. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 82,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,049,947.18. The trade was a 1.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.45% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UCB. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 10.1% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 13.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,894 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of United Community Banks by 1.0% during the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 55,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of United Community Banks by 7.6% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in shares of United Community Banks by 8.4% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 9,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, United Community Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to consumers, businesses and communities primarily across the Southeastern United States.

United Community Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, residential mortgages, credit cards, online and mobile banking, treasury management and other financial services. Its lending activities include commercial real estate, business, construction, residential and consumer loans.