United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $33.14.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on UCB shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Hovde Group raised shares of United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

United Community Banks Price Performance

Shares of United Community Banks stock opened at $31.79 on Monday. United Community Banks has a 52-week low of $22.93 and a 52-week high of $35.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a fifty day moving average of $28.97 and a 200-day moving average of $29.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.02%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UCB. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth about $450,141,000. FMR LLC bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth about $310,166,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth about $195,766,000. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth about $148,763,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth about $113,536,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About United Community Banks

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.