Sei Investments Co. Acquires 40,782 Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 10.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 446,292 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 40,782 shares during the quarter. Sei Investments Co. owned about 0.37% of United Community Banks worth $14,054,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in United Community Banks by 196.1% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares in the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. First Horizon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.41, for a total transaction of $885,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,502.53. This trade represents a 40.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $49,968.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 83,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,920,470.52. This represents a 1.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UCB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UCB opened at $35.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $4.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.81. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $28.65 and a 12 month high of $37.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.46 and a 200-day moving average of $33.57.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last posted 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 during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

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.