Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 30,280 Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its stake in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 20.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 119,154 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,280 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned about 0.10% of United Community Banks worth $3,736,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,061,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 2nd quarter worth $5,362,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 113,454 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 372,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,090,000 after purchasing an additional 97,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in United Community Banks by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,607,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,878,000 after purchasing an additional 93,853 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total value of $425,840.48. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,954.56. The trade was a 36.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of UCB opened at $36.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.02 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.93 and a 1 year high of $36.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $32.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.74.

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

United Community Banks declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, December 8th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

United Community Banks Profile

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.