Great Lakes Advisors LLC Invests $3.70 Million in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 105,387 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,698,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of UCB. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the second quarter worth $55,195,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth about $48,450,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter worth about $34,183,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 70.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,380,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,103,000 after acquiring an additional 571,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 125.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 774,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,286,000 after acquiring an additional 431,491 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Hovde Group decreased their target price on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Community Banks from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $38.80.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

NYSE:UCB opened at $35.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $35.30 and its 200-day moving average is $33.79. The company has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $28.65 and a 52-week high of $37.18.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.09). United Community Banks had a net margin of 24.43% and a return on equity of 9.61%. The company had revenue of $279.28 million during the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.41, for a total value of $885,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 37,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,502.53. This represents a 40.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total value of $49,968.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,920,470.52. The trade was a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About United Community Banks

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.