Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $1.69 Million Position in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCBFree Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 53,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,685,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UCB. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at $48,450,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter valued at about $34,183,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 70.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,380,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,103,000 after buying an additional 571,296 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 125.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 774,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,286,000 after buying an additional 431,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the third quarter worth about $13,423,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Community Banks Price Performance

Shares of UCB opened at $36.04 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.81. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.65 and a 1-year high of $36.77. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $33.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.08.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCBGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.70. The company had revenue of $278.26 million during the quarter. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 22.05%.The business’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is currently 36.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total value of $49,965.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 84,497 shares in the company, valued at $2,796,005.73. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on UCB shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research lowered United Community Banks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on United Community Banks from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Hovde Group reduced their price objective on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Community Banks presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.40.

View Our Latest Stock Report on UCB

United Community Banks Profile

(Free Report)

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.

See Also

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB)

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