AlphaQuest LLC Acquires 55,402 Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

AlphaQuest LLC raised its holdings in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 82.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 122,631 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 55,402 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $3,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 2nd quarter valued at about $42,061,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in United Community Banks during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,362,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 427.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 139,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,170,000 after purchasing an additional 113,454 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 372,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,090,000 after purchasing an additional 97,851 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,607,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,878,000 after purchasing an additional 93,853 shares during the period. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. DA Davidson increased their target price 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Stephens upped their price target 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, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $37.50.

United Community Banks Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of UCB opened at $34.68 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $32.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.83. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.93 and a 12-month high of $35.72.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $278.39 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.80 million. United Community Banks had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.49%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.61 EPS.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is presently 38.31%.

United Community Banks declared that its board has initiated 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 often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In related news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total value of $425,840.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 21,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $745,954.56. This represents a 36.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Community Banks Company Profile

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.