<div id="readability-page-1"><p>Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of &#34;Moderate Buy&#34; from the seven ratings firms that are presently  covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one  has given a strong buy recommendation to  the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.50.</p><p>Several research firms have commented on UCB. Weiss Ratings  reiterated a &#34;hold (c+)&#34; rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stephens upped their price objective on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an &#34;overweight&#34; rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a &#34;buy&#34; rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of United Community Banks from a &#34;hold&#34; rating to a &#34;strong-buy&#34; rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette &amp; Woods raised their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a &#34;market perform&#34; rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th.</p><div><p><span></span><span>Get <strong>United Community Banks</strong> alerts:</span></p></div><p><b>Read Our Latest Stock Report on UCB</b></p><h2>United Community Banks Stock Performance</h2><p>Shares of United Community Banks stock opened at $35.13 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $31.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 0.83. United Community Banks has a fifty-two week low of $22.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. </p><p>United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.02). United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 21.35%.The company had revenue of $278.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.61 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. </p><p>United Community Banks declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, December 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in  outstanding  shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued. </p><h2>United Community Banks Dividend Announcement</h2><p>The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.31%. </p><h2>Insider Activity at United Community Banks</h2><p>In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,654 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.23, for a total value of $50,000.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,226 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,274,081.98. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own  0.43% of the company's stock. </p><h2>Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Community Banks</h2><p>Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UCB. Savant Capital LLC increased its holdings in  United Community Banks by 1.6% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 28,317 shares of the company's stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter.  Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of  United Community Banks by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,189 shares of the company's stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period.  Amalgamated Bank increased its stake in shares of  United Community Banks by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 34,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,029,000 after acquiring an additional 534 shares in the last quarter.  GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of  United Community Banks by 11.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 586 shares during the period.  Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of  United Community Banks by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 56,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,692,000 after acquiring an additional 600 shares during the period. Institutional investors own  82.29% of the company's stock. </p><h2>About United Community Banks</h2> (Get Free Report)<p>United Community Banks, Inc <span>NYSE: UCB<span></span></span> is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. It operates primarily through its subsidiary, United Community Bank, providing a broad range of banking and financial services to individual, business and governmental customers. The company's core offerings include deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, treasury and cash management services, and wealth management.  </p><p>In addition to traditional banking products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, United Community Bank specializes in commercial real estate financing, small business administration (SBA) loans, equipment financing and agricultural lending.</p><h2>Further Reading</h2><ul><li>Five stocks we like better than United Community Banks</li><li>Elon Taking SpaceX Public! $100 Pre-IPO Opportunity!</li><li>How a Family Trust May Be Able To Help Preserve Your Wealth</li><li>Do not delete, read immediately</li><li>NEW LAW: Congress Approves Setup For Digital Dollar?</li><li>Executive Order 14330: Trump’s Biggest Yet</li></ul><p><img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVVDQg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="600" height="385" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://www.marketbeat.com/scripts/RatingsChart.ashx/query-UHJlZml4PU5ZU0UmU3ltYm9sPVVDQg"/></p><p><em>This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.</em></p><h2>Should You Invest $1,000 in United Community Banks Right Now?</h2><p>Before you consider United Community Banks, you'll want to hear this.</p><p>MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and United Community Banks wasn't on the list.</p><p>While United Community Banks currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.</p><p>View The Five Stocks Here</p>                  </div>

<p>United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with three hold, three buy, and one strong buy recommendations. The average target price is $37.50. The company reported Q4 earnings of $0.71 per share, missing estimates, but revenue increased 11% year-over-year. A $100 million stock buyback program was approved, and a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share was recently paid. Insider activity includes the sale of shares by EVP Richard Bradshaw. Institutional investors have also adjusted their positions in UCB.</p>

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts