Edgestream Partners L.P. Has $951,000 Position in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Key Points

• Edgestream Partners cut its United Community Banks stake by 55.8% in the first quarter, selling 38,089 shares and retaining a position worth approximately $951,000. Institutional investors collectively own 82.29% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $38.80, although one firm downgraded the stock to “sell.” UCB recently traded at $36.11.
• United Community Banks reported quarterly earnings of $0.71 per share, below the $0.80 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $279.28 million. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equal to a 2.8% yield.

Edgestream Partners L.P. reduced its stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Free Report) by 55.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,198 shares of the company's stock after selling 38,089 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $951,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,450,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in United Community Banks in the first quarter worth about $34,183,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of United Community Banks by 70.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,380,627 shares of the company's stock worth $43,103,000 after buying an additional 571,296 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in United Community Banks by 125.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 774,660 shares of the company's stock worth $24,286,000 after acquiring an additional 431,491 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in United Community Banks by 105.9% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 766,552 shares of the company's stock valued at $24,031,000 after purchasing an additional 394,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on UCB shares. Stephens upped their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded United Community Banks from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Community Banks from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of United Community Banks to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.80.

United Community Banks Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UCB opened at $36.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 0.82. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $34.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.63. United Community Banks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $28.65 and a fifty-two week high of $37.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.09). United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 24.43%.The firm had revenue of $279.28 million for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.41, for a total transaction of $885,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 37,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,325,502.53. The trade was a 40.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total transaction of $49,968.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 83,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,920,470.52. The trade was a 1.68% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

United Community Banks Profile

United Community Banks, Inc NYSE: UCB is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. It operates primarily through its subsidiary, United Community Bank, providing a broad range of banking and financial services to individual, business and governmental customers. The company's core offerings include deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, treasury and cash management services, and wealth management.

In addition to traditional banking products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, United Community Bank specializes in commercial real estate financing, small business administration (SBA) loans, equipment financing and agricultural lending.

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