United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $34.97 and last traded at $35.0450, with a volume of 538379 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $33.50.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UCB shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. DA Davidson raised their target price on 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, Stephens upped their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Community Banks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.00.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $31.72 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.42.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last posted its 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 net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company had revenue of $278.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.80 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. United Community Banks’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.31%.

United Community Banks announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,654 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.23, for a total transaction of $50,000.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,274,081.98. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UCB. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake 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 worth $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,617 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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. increased its position in United Community Banks by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,003,000 after buying an additional 3,115 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the first quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter worth about $204,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

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.