Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 86,425 Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 0.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,394,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 86,425 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.12% of United Community Banks worth $451,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of UCB. Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of United Community Banks by 1.6% during the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 28,317 shares of the company’s stock worth $888,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in United Community Banks by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,189 shares of the company’s stock worth $840,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in United Community Banks by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 34,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,029,000 after buying an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in United Community Banks by 14.8% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,080 shares of the company’s stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 656 shares during the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd boosted its holdings in United Community Banks by 7.3% in the second quarter. XTX Topco Ltd now owns 9,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 675 shares in the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Community Banks Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:UCB opened at $33.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $33.68 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.10. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.93 and a 1-year high of $36.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.90 and a beta of 0.84.

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

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on UCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. DA Davidson upped their price target 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. Hovde Group cut shares of United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, February 9th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.00.

Insider Activity at United Community Banks

In related news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $425,840.48. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,954.56. This trade represents a 36.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.