United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB) Hits New 52-Week Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on the stock from $35.00 to $32.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. United Community Banks traded as low as $26.88 and last traded at $27.68, with a volume of 713259 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $27.77.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on UCB. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $36.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group upgraded United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $33.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, CEO H Lynn Harton sold 31,679 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total transaction of $1,072,017.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,805,104.96. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sally Pope Davis purchased 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.19 per share, with a total value of $50,742.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 3,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $92,012.16. The trade was a 122.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UCB. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Stock Up 1.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.50.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is currently 45.50%.

United Community Banks Company Profile

United Community Banks, Inc operates as the financial holding company for United Community Bank that provides financial products and services to commercial, retail, government, education, energy, health care, and real estate sectors. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts.