Arizona State Retirement System Takes Position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 34,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $963,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of UCB. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $450,141,000. FMR LLC acquired a new stake in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at about $310,166,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $195,766,000. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $148,763,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $113,536,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson lifted their price target on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Community Banks presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.29.

United Community Banks Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of United Community Banks stock traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $31.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 983,548 shares, compared to its average volume of 730,568. The stock has a market cap of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.78. 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 twelve month low of $22.93 and a twelve month high of $35.38. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.77 and a 200-day moving average of $29.63.

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. United Community Banks's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.52 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. United Community Banks's payout ratio is currently 45.50%.

United Community Banks 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.