Vanguard Group Inc. Lowers Position in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 14,394,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 86,425 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.85% of United Community Banks worth $451,270,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in UCB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the second quarter worth about $42,061,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,362,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 427.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 139,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,170,000 after purchasing an additional 113,454 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in United Community Banks by 35.7% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 372,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,090,000 after purchasing an additional 97,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in United Community Banks by 6.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,607,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,878,000 after purchasing an additional 93,853 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at United Community Banks

In other news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total value of $425,840.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 21,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,954.56. This represents a 36.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE UCB opened at $33.66 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.84. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.93 and a 52-week high of $36.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share.

United Community Banks announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 8th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.00.

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.