First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Sells 25,552 Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. reduced its holdings in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 49.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,884 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,552 shares during the period. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,061,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,362,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in United Community Banks by 427.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 139,984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,170,000 after buying an additional 113,454 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its position in United Community Banks by 35.7% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 372,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,090,000 after buying an additional 97,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in United Community Banks by 6.2% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,607,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,878,000 after buying an additional 93,853 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In related news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total value of $425,840.48. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 21,096 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,954.56. This trade represents a 36.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

United Community Banks Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:UCB opened at $33.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.50. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.93 and a 12 month high of $35.72.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.73 by ($0.02). United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 21.35%.The firm had revenue of $278.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $273.80 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.61 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis.

United Community Banks declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, December 8th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens increased their target price on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Community Banks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $37.50.

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.