United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Shares Sold by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. lowered its position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 39.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 114,443 shares of the company’s stock after selling 73,990 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $3,588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in UCB. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. First Horizon Corp purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 213.8% in the second 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 stake in shares of United Community Banks during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In other news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $425,840.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,954.56. This trade represents a 36.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

United Community Banks stock opened at $32.07 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29 and a beta of 0.84. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.93 and a 12-month high of $36.77. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $33.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.16.

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

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

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is 38.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UCB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Hovde Group lowered United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 9th. Stephens raised their price target on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Community Banks currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.00.

United Community Banks 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.