Caxton Associates LLP Buys Shares of 25,667 United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Key Points

• Caxton Associates LLP purchased 25,667 shares of United Community Banks, valued at approximately $722,000, reflecting ongoing institutional interest in the bank's stock.
• United Community Banks recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.24 to $0.25, providing a dividend yield of 3.1%.
• Analysts have rated United Community Banks with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $34.57, with some firms upgrading their price targets following recent positive earnings results.

Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 25,667 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $722,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. M&T Bank Corp purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $926,000. Amalgamated Bank purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the 1st quarter valued at about $957,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in United Community Banks in the first quarter valued at $16,721,000. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks in the first quarter valued at about $132,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the 1st quarter valued at $460,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Hovde Group upped their target price on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 78,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,425,541.30. This trade represents a 2.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Community Banks Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UCB traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $32.34. 624,720 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 696,556. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $31.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.38. 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 company has a market cap of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.85 and a beta of 0.86.

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

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is a positive change from United Community Banks's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.45%.

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.