Diversified Trust Co. Makes New Investment in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Diversified Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 25,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $794,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UCB. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,061,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 125.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 774,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,286,000 after purchasing an additional 431,491 shares during the period. Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $13,423,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 105.9% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 766,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,031,000 after buying an additional 394,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the third quarter valued at approximately $6,281,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of United Community Banks stock opened at $30.92 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.91. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.93 and a 52 week high of $36.77.

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

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 shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.31%.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,954.56. The trade was a 36.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report 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 objective on the stock. in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Community Banks from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

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.