PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Takes $460,000 Position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 16,363 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in UCB. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in United Community Banks during the first quarter valued at about $1,773,000. US Bancorp DE purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter worth about $436,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter valued at about $130,000. CAP Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 1st quarter worth about $536,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 55.8% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 24,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $675,000 after purchasing an additional 8,603 shares during the period. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Hovde Group raised their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $34.57.

Insider Activity

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.94, for a total transaction of $49,999.04. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 78,395 shares in the company, valued at $2,425,541.30. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Price Performance

UCB opened at $31.60 on Thursday. United Community Banks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.93 and a twelve month high of $35.38. The firm has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.49.

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 16.48%. The business’s revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.64%.

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.