18,000 Shares in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Bought by Continental Advisors LLC

Continental Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $536,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in United Community Banks by 13.2% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 113,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,201,000 after buying an additional 13,253 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,728,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $345,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in United Community Banks by 11.9% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 300,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,454,000 after acquiring an additional 31,999 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the 1st quarter valued at $3,376,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,654 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.23, for a total transaction of $50,000.42. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 75,226 shares in the company, valued at $2,274,081.98. The trade was a 2.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, United Community Banks has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $35.33.

United Community Banks Price Performance

UCB stock opened at $32.38 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.54. United Community Banks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.93 and a fifty-two week high of $34.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04. The company has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 0.87.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.75 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $276.85 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $270.85 million. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.42% and a net margin of 20.67%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS.

United Community Banks declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.68%.

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.