Analysts Set United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Price Target at $38.00

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $38.00.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hovde Group lowered shares of United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Stephens raised their target price on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Zacks Research raised United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th.

United Community Banks Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of UCB opened at $34.54 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.57 and a 200-day moving average of $31.98. United Community Banks has a 52 week low of $22.93 and a 52 week high of $36.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its quarterly earnings data 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%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

United Community Banks declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, December 8th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $425,840.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 21,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,954.56. This represents a 36.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Community Banks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 196.1% in the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 213.8% during the second quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the third quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

About United Community Banks

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.