KBC Group NV Acquires Shares of 6,361 United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 6,361 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $179,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UCB. Farther Finance Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at $80,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,050,000. Swiss National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,573,000. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $273,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $498,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Hovde Group upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.14.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

UCB opened at $31.79 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58 and a beta of 0.78. United Community Banks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.93 and a twelve month high of $35.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $28.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.02%. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is presently 45.50%.

About United Community Banks

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. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts.