United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Rating Lowered to Market Perform at Hovde Group

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) was downgraded by stock analysts at Hovde Group from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $38.00 target price on the stock. Hovde Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 7.41% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts also recently commented on UCB. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

United Community Banks Stock Down 1.4%

United Community Banks stock opened at $35.38 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. United Community Banks has a 1-year low of $22.93 and a 1-year high of $36.77. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.80. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.56 and a beta of 0.84.

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

United Community Banks announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, December 8th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $425,840.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 21,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,954.56. This trade represents a 36.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.54% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Community Banks

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in United Community Banks by 196.1% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in United Community Banks by 213.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.