United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCBI) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.05 EPS

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCBI – Get Rating) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.05), MarketWatch Earnings reports. United Community Banks had a net margin of 36.63% and a return on equity of 13.90%. The company had revenue of $202.77 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.89 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

Shares of NASDAQ UCBI traded up $0.85 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $32.13. 469,340 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 809,584. The company has a market capitalization of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.82 and a beta of 1.04. United Community Banks has a twelve month low of $27.62 and a twelve month high of $39.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $35.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. This is a boost from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 14th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.28%.

UCBI has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Thursday, March 31st. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. Zacks Investment Research upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 6th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded shares of United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 6th.

In other news, CEO H Lynn Harton sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total transaction of $175,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 242,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,504,414.42. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 9,950 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $419,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 618 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 48,433 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,741,000 after buying an additional 6,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 85,169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,061,000 after buying an additional 15,147 shares in the last quarter. 88.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About United Community Banks (Get Rating)

United Community Banks, Inc operates as the financial holding company for United Community Bank that provides financial products and services to commercial, retail, government, education, energy, health care, and real estate sectors. The company accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts.

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