Diversified Trust Co. Purchases New Position in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Diversified Trust Co. acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 25,442 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $794,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in United Community Banks in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. First Horizon Corp bought a new position in United Community Banks in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 130.9% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,951 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 1,106 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter worth about $67,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE UCB opened at $30.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.84. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. United Community Banks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.93 and a twelve month high of $36.77.

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

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.31%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on UCB. Zacks Research downgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $39.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Hovde Group cut shares of United Community Banks from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $38.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Community Banks has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $38.00.

Insider Activity at United Community Banks

In related news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $425,840.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,096 shares in the company, valued at $745,954.56. This represents a 36.34% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

United Community Banks Company 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.