Stock Repurchase Program Approved by United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Board

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, December 8th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.33.

United Community Banks Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE UCB opened at $31.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.80. United Community Banks has a fifty-two week low of $22.93 and a fifty-two week high of $34.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $30.47. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.37 and a beta of 0.87.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $276.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $270.85 million. United Community Banks had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 9.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.68%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,654 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.23, for a total transaction of $50,000.42. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 75,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,274,081.98. The trade was a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

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. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts.