GSA Capital Partners LLP Takes $1.94 Million Position in United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP initiated a new stake in United Community Banks, buying 62,180 shares worth about $1.94 million in the fourth quarter.
• The bank’s latest earnings matched expectations, with Q1 EPS of $0.70 and revenue of $278.27 million, up 11.6% from a year earlier.
• United Community Banks declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equal to an annualized yield of about 3.1%, while analysts currently have a Moderate Buy consensus target of $38.40.

GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 62,180 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,941,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP owned about 0.05% of United Community Banks as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 214,149 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,686,000 after acquiring an additional 4,264 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its position in United Community Banks by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 27,820 shares of the company's stock worth $869,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth $425,000. Patten & Patten Inc. TN lifted its position in United Community Banks by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN now owns 8,266 shares of the company's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC bought a new stake in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth $1,153,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Community Banks Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:UCB opened at $32.45 on Wednesday. United Community Banks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.23 and a twelve month high of $36.77. The company has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $32.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.65% and a net margin of 22.05%.The business had revenue of $278.27 million during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.99 EPS for the current year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. United Community Banks's payout ratio is presently 36.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UCB has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded United Community Banks from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research downgraded United Community Banks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $38.40.

Insider Transactions at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total transaction of $49,965.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 84,497 shares in the company, valued at $2,796,005.73. This trade represents a 1.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

United Community Banks Company 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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