United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB) Price Target Cut to $32.00 by Analysts at Hovde Group

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB) had its target price trimmed by Hovde Group from $36.00 to $32.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on UCB. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Raymond James raised United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

United Community Banks Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of United Community Banks stock opened at $28.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.79 and a beta of 0.90. United Community Banks has a 12-month low of $26.00 and a 12-month high of $35.38. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.08.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,527 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.72, for a total value of $49,963.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,876 shares in the company, valued at $2,220,902.72. This trade represents a 2.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sally Pope Davis bought 1,800 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $28.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,742.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,264 shares in the company, valued at approximately $92,012.16. The trade was a 122.95 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Community Banks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UCB. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $45,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new position in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $80,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.