United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Time to Buy?

United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 2,484,465 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 259% from the previous session’s volume of 691,633 shares.The stock last traded at $28.72 and had previously closed at $28.93.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UCB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James raised United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group decreased their target price on United Community Banks from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th.

United Community Banks Stock Down 0.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $31.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.06%.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In related news, Director Sally Pope Davis bought 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.19 per share, for a total transaction of $50,742.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 3,264 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $92,012.16. This trade represents a 122.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,527 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UCB. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new position in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $450,141,000. FMR LLC acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $310,166,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $195,766,000. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $148,763,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $113,536,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.