Earnest Partners LLC Sells 195,968 Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Earnest Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,658,330 shares of the company’s stock after selling 195,968 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $114,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 37.8% in the third quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 46,917 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,471,000 after buying an additional 12,878 shares during the last quarter. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,627,000. Azora Capital LP bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $13,423,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in United Community Banks by 10.7% in the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 213,123 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,681,000 after purchasing an additional 20,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in United Community Banks by 7.9% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 703,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,067,000 after purchasing an additional 51,371 shares during the period. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,096 shares in the company, valued at $745,954.56. This trade represents a 36.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on UCB shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Zacks Research raised shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Hovde Group downgraded shares of United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 research report on Thursday, January 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.00.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UCB opened at $29.97 on Friday. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.93 and a 12 month high of $36.77. The company has a market cap of $3.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.84. The business’s 50 day moving average is $33.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

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

United Community Banks announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, December 8th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is 38.31%.

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.