United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Shares Sold by Systematic Financial Management LP

Systematic Financial Management LP reduced its position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 878,302 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,977 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $27,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ruffer LLP purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,053,000. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,153,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,941,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 163.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 56,243 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after buying an additional 34,932 shares during the period. Finally, Diversified Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at $794,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

UCB stock opened at $34.91 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.47. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.65 and a 12 month high of $37.18. The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.09). United Community Banks had a net margin of 24.43% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The business had revenue of $279.28 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on UCB shares. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday. Hovde Group reduced their price objective on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen upgraded United Community Banks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised United Community Banks from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, United Community Banks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total transaction of $49,965.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,497 shares in the company, valued at $2,796,005.73. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About United Community Banks

United Community Banks, Inc (NYSE: UCB) 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.

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.