120,000 Shares in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Bought by FJ Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• FJ Capital Management LLC acquired 120,000 shares of United Community Banks, Inc. valued at approximately $3,376,000, representing about 0.10% ownership in the company.
• United Community Banks announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.25 per share, yielding 3.0%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 15th.
• Wall Street analysts currently hold a consensus rating of "Hold" for United Community Banks, with price targets ranging from $34.00 to $36.00.

FJ Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 120,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,376,000. FJ Capital Management LLC owned about 0.10% of United Community Banks at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in UCB. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at $2,896,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Stifel Financial Corp bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,306,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at about $451,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Group LLP acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $2,450,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UCB shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Hovde Group boosted their price target on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Community Banks presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $34.57.

United Community Banks Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of United Community Banks stock opened at $33.41 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 52 week low of $22.93 and a 52 week high of $35.38. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38 and a beta of 0.86.

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from United Community Banks's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.45%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,425,541.30. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Community Banks Company 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.

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