RFG Advisory LLC Acquires Shares of 6,930 United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

RFG Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 6,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $206,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in UCB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in United Community Banks during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $40,871,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the first quarter worth approximately $34,780,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the first quarter worth $16,721,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in United Community Banks by 149.3% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 886,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,944,000 after buying an additional 531,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in United Community Banks by 671.1% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 556,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,647,000 after buying an additional 484,094 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:UCB opened at $29.96 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.62 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.90. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.93 and a 12 month high of $35.38.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $260.24 million during the quarter. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 8.91% and a net margin of 17.93%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is 45.45%.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.94, for a total transaction of $49,999.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 78,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,425,541.30. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UCB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen raised United Community Banks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Hovde Group boosted their target price on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.57.

United Community Banks Company Profile

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. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts.