Connable Office Inc. Acquires New Position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Key Points

• Connable Office Inc. has purchased 16,651 shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) valued at approximately $468,000, reflecting significant interest from institutional investors.
• United Community Banks recently reported earnings of $0.66 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.24 per share, yielding a 3.2% return.
• Analysts have revised their price targets for UCB, with several firms setting targets as high as $36.00 while the average rating remains at "Hold".

Connable Office Inc. bought a new position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 16,651 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $468,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $273,000. LPL Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,246,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $21,599,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $471,000. Finally, Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $232,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.94, for a total transaction of $49,999.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 78,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,425,541.30. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on UCB. Hovde Group lifted their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $36.00 price objective on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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 research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Community Banks presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $34.57.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of UCB stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $29.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 547,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 731,392. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.07 and a 200 day moving average of $29.59. The stock has a market cap of $3.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.65 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.93 and a 12-month high of $35.38.

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. United Community Banks had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 8.64%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio is presently 43.64%.

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.