Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $18.39 Million Stock Holdings in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 2.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 586,632 shares of the company’s stock after selling 15,738 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $18,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of UCB. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 55,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,617 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Community Banks by 176.2% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 26,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $746,000 after buying an additional 16,925 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in United Community Banks by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 71,211 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,003,000 after buying an additional 3,115 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter worth about $219,000. Finally, United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 1st quarter worth about $204,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 owned 21,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,954.56. The trade was a 36.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Stock Up 1.4%

UCB opened at $36.58 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $32.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.74. United Community Banks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.93 and a fifty-two week high of $36.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

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

United Community Banks declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, December 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research 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 objective on the stock. in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report 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 research report on Thursday, January 15th. Stephens raised their price target on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

United Community Banks 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.