United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB) Sets New 52-Week Low - Here's Why

United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $23.38 and last traded at $23.68, with a volume of 1005584 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.10.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Hovde Group upgraded United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James raised United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.80. 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 50-day simple moving average of $29.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.74.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio is 47.06%.

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Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sally Pope Davis acquired 1,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $28.19 per share, with a total value of $50,742.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 3,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $92,012.16. The trade was a 122.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO H Lynn Harton sold 31,679 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total value of $1,072,017.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,805,104.96. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UCB. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $450,141,000. FMR LLC bought a new position in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at about $310,166,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $195,766,000. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $148,763,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,536,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company's stock.

About United Community Banks

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.