United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.00.

UCB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Hovde Group downgraded shares of United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 9th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

United Community Banks Trading Down 4.2%

NYSE UCB opened at $33.29 on Tuesday. United Community Banks has a 52 week low of $22.93 and a 52 week high of $36.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 0.84.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.02). United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 21.35%.United Community Banks’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share.

United Community Banks announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, December 8th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In other news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total value of $425,840.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,096 shares in the company, valued at $745,954.56. This trade represents a 36.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Community Banks

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 55,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after acquiring an additional 3,617 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in United Community Banks by 176.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $746,000 after purchasing an additional 16,925 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in United Community Banks by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,003,000 after purchasing an additional 3,115 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the 1st quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter worth about $204,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.