United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) CAO Alan Kumler Sells 12,043 Shares

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) CAO Alan Kumler sold 12,043 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $425,840.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:UCB traded down $1.22 on Friday, reaching $33.89. 936,490 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,004,465. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. United Community Banks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.72. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 0.83.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $278.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.80 million. United Community Banks had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.31%.

United Community Banks announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Community Banks

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UCB. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in United Community Banks by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,337,524 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,681,000 after acquiring an additional 61,465 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,879,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,801,000 after buying an additional 56,756 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,680,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,698,000 after buying an additional 73,775 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,061,000. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP increased its holdings in United Community Banks by 1.0% in the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 899,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,805,000 after buying an additional 8,830 shares during the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UCB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Stephens lifted their price target on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on 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 restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research raised United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $37.50.

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.