United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Shares Acquired by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 473,855 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 59,650 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $14,855,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AlphaQuest LLC raised its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 82.4% during the 3rd quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 122,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,844,000 after buying an additional 55,402 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the third quarter worth about $1,831,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the second quarter worth about $1,468,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,061,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in United Community Banks by 13.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 465,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,857,000 after acquiring an additional 53,754 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Stock Up 0.1%

UCB stock opened at $34.58 on Friday. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.93 and a 52 week high of $36.77. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.35 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.84.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.73 by ($0.02). United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 21.35%.The firm had revenue of $278.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.80 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

United Community Banks declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, December 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UCB. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. DA Davidson increased their price target 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Hovde Group downgraded shares of United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the stock in a transaction 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. This represents a 36.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.