Cypress Capital Group Purchases Shares of 8,745 United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Key Points

• Cypress Capital Group acquired 8,745 shares of United Community Banks, Inc. valued at approximately $246,000 in the 1st quarter, highlighting growing institutional interest in the bank.
• The recent quarterly earnings report showed a earnings per share of $0.66, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.61, alongside a 6.1% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.
• United Community Banks also declared a $0.24 quarterly dividend, with a dividend yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 43.64%.

Cypress Capital Group purchased a new stake in shares of 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 purchased 8,745 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $246,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in United Community Banks by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 9,094 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the 1st quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In related news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of the company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,425,541.30. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.43% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UCB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective 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 lifted their target price on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Community Banks has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.57.

United Community Banks Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of UCB traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $31.19. The company had a trading volume of 580,554 shares, compared to its average volume of 721,053. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 15.29 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 one year low of $22.93 and a one year high of $35.38. The company's fifty day moving average price is $30.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.46.

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. United Community Banks's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. This is an increase from United Community Banks's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio is currently 43.64%.

About United Community Banks

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.