United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Shares Bought by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 3,485.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,358 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,595 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $862,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of UCB. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 196.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 992 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. First Horizon Corp increased its position in shares of United Community Banks by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 1,315 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Community Banks Stock Down 0.2%

UCB stock opened at $35.19 on Monday. United Community Banks, Inc. has a one year low of $28.65 and a one year high of $37.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.26 and a 200-day moving average of $33.50.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $279.28 million for the quarter. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 24.43%. As a group, analysts expect that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is presently 32.89%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UCB has been the topic of a number of research reports. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday. Hovde Group decreased their price objective on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 27th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Community Banks has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.80.

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.