United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Shares Sold by Texas Permanent School Fund Corp

Texas Permanent School Fund Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 16.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 111,950 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,177 shares during the quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp owned 0.09% of United Community Banks worth $3,335,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in United Community Banks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $31,000 after buying an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Community Banks by 130.9% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in United Community Banks during the 1st quarter valued at $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,654 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.23, for a total transaction of $50,000.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 75,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,274,081.98. This represents a 2.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 currently owned by insiders.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of UCB opened at $32.21 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.87. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $30.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 0.80 and a quick ratio of 0.80. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.93 and a 12-month high of $34.57.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.05. United Community Banks had a net margin of 20.67% and a return on equity of 9.42%. The firm had revenue of $276.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.85 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

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

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.68%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $35.40.

United Community Banks Company 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.