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

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $35.95 and last traded at $35.0650, with a volume of 151360 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $34.99.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on UCB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens increased their price target on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research upgraded United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The business has a 50-day moving average of $32.54 and a 200-day moving average of $31.62. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.48 and a beta of 0.84.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $278.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $273.80 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.61 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.31%.

United Community Banks declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, December 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Community Banks news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total value of $425,840.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,954.56. The trade was a 36.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Community Banks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AlphaQuest LLC lifted its position in United Community Banks by 82.4% during the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 122,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,844,000 after acquiring an additional 55,402 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 2nd quarter worth $1,468,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the 2nd quarter worth $42,061,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in United Community Banks by 13.1% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 465,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,857,000 after buying an additional 53,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC raised its stake in United Community Banks by 86.8% in the third quarter. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC now owns 57,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,806,000 after buying an additional 26,766 shares during the last quarter. 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.