Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys Shares of 23,752 United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 23,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $742,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of UCB. Norges Bank bought a new position in United Community Banks in the second quarter valued at about $42,061,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in United Community Banks by 125.7% in 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 last quarter. Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the third quarter worth $13,423,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 105.9% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 766,552 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,031,000 after acquiring an additional 394,263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,281,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

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

United Community Banks Stock Performance

NYSE:UCB opened at $31.97 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 0.82. United Community Banks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.93 and a twelve month high of $36.77. The company has a fifty day moving average of $32.91 and a 200-day moving average of $31.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last posted 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.61 earnings per share. United Community Banks’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

United Community Banks declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, December 8th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Hovde Group lowered United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 9th. DA Davidson upped their price objective 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. Stephens raised their price objective 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target 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. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of United Community Banks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.