Fisher Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Fisher Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 1.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,048,174 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,755 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $32,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UCB. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the second quarter worth about $25,000. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 213.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in United Community Banks by 130.9% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on UCB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research raised United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Hovde Group cut United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 target price for the company. in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $425,840.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,954.56. The trade was a 36.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Price Performance

UCB stock opened at $32.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50-day moving average is $33.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.16. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.93 and a 1 year high of $36.77.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%.The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.61 EPS.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

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

United Community Banks announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, December 8th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.