Great Lakes Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 105,387 United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors acquired 105,387 shares of United Community Banks in the second quarter, valued at approximately $3.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.29% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $38.80. Recent ratings included a TD Cowen “strong-buy” upgrade and price-target increases from Stephens.
• United Community Banks reported quarterly EPS of $0.71, below the $0.80 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $279.28 million. The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26, implying an annualized yield of about 2.9%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 105,387 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,698,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.09% of United Community Banks as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of United Community Banks by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 9,955 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in United Community Banks by 13.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,894 shares of the company's stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in United Community Banks by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 17,808 shares of the company's stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in United Community Banks by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 11,761 shares of the company's stock worth $367,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in United Community Banks by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 3,880 shares of the company's stock valued at $123,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UCB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stephens upped their price objective on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. TD Cowen raised United Community Banks to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Community Banks from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Community Banks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $38.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,433 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,325,502.53. This trade represents a 40.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,920,470.52. This trade represents a 1.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.45% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Community Banks Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:UCB opened at $35.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.82. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $28.65 and a 1-year high of $37.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $35.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $33.79.

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

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from United Community Banks's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.89%.

About United Community Banks

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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