United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after Hovde Group lowered their price target on the stock from $36.00 to $32.00. The stock had previously closed at $28.93, but opened at $27.67. Hovde Group currently has a market perform rating on the stock. United Community Banks shares last traded at $28.70, with a volume of 18,358 shares traded.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James upgraded United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $80,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04 and a beta of 0.90. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.78 and its 200-day moving average is $31.10.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is presently 47.06%.

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.