United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Stake Increased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 40.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 297,968 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 86,023 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $9,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 10.1% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in United Community Banks by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,894 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in United Community Banks by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 55,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,949,000 after acquiring an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in United Community Banks by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $296,000 after acquiring an additional 596 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC increased its position in United Community Banks by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,540 shares of the company’s stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 779 shares in the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,345 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.17, for a total value of $49,993.65. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 82,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,049,947.18. This trade represents a 1.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UCB shares. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. TD Cowen raised shares of United Community Banks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $40.00 to $41.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $37.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $40.00.

United Community Banks Trading Down 1.6%

Shares of UCB opened at $37.04 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $28.79 and a 12-month high of $37.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.86. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.11.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 20th. The company reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.77. The business had revenue of $291.90 million for the quarter. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.66% and a net margin of 9.06%. As a group, research analysts predict that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 3.01 earnings per share for the current year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 15th. This is a boost from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.14%.

United Community Banks Company Profile

United Community Banks, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, United Community Bank, the company provides banking and financial services to consumers, businesses and communities primarily across the Southeastern United States.

United Community Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, residential mortgages, credit cards, online and mobile banking, treasury management and other financial services. Its lending activities include commercial real estate, business, construction, residential and consumer loans.