Public Sector Pension Investment Board Grows Stake in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 14.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 473,855 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,650 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.39% of United Community Banks worth $14,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the second quarter valued at $25,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in United Community Banks during the 3rd quarter worth about $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in United Community Banks by 213.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 130.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other United Community Banks news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 21,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,954.56. This trade represents a 36.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Trading Up 0.1%

United Community Banks stock opened at $34.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.81. The stock has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $33.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.87. United Community Banks, Inc. has a one year low of $22.93 and a one year high of $36.77.

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

United Community Banks announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Monday, December 8th that permits the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UCB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens increased their target price on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research upgraded United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Hovde Group cut United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently 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.