United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB) Stock Price Up 4.1% - Should You Buy?

United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Get Free Report) shares traded up 4.1% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $24.84 and last traded at $24.80. 201,551 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average session volume of 659,206 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.83.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on UCB shares. Hovde Group upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler lifted 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.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $28.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.59. 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 company has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.80.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. United Community Banks's payout ratio is 47.06%.

Insider Activity

In other United Community Banks news, CEO H Lynn Harton sold 31,679 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total value of $1,072,017.36. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,444 shares in the company, valued at $3,805,104.96. The trade was a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,527 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 67,876 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,220,902.72. This trade 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.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Community Banks

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $450,141,000. FMR LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at about $310,166,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at $195,766,000. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $148,763,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $113,536,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.