Principal Financial Group Inc. Takes Position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 594,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,721,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of United Community Banks as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Amalgamated Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the first quarter worth about $957,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in United Community Banks during the first quarter worth about $132,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in United Community Banks in the 1st quarter valued at $2,897,000. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $508,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the first quarter worth approximately $665,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Raymond James Financial restated a “market perform” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Tuesday. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group raised shares of United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $33.14.

United Community Banks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UCB opened at $31.17 on Friday. United Community Banks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The stock has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $29.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.67.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.50%.

United Community Banks Profile

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.