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

United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Get Free Report) 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 trading hands.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on UCB. Raymond James raised shares of United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

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

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Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth $3,050,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth $8,675,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,301,000. Swiss National Bank bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,573,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of 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 Up 3.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.66 and a 200-day moving average of $31.08.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.