Alan Kumler Sells 12,043 Shares of United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Stock

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) CAO Alan Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $425,840.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

NYSE UCB opened at $33.89 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 0.83. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.93 and a 12-month high of $35.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $32.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.49.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.02). United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 21.35%.The business had revenue of $278.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.61 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.31%.

United Community Banks declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in United Community Banks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in United Community Banks by 213.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 130.9% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.