Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Takes Position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Key Points

• Mutual of America Capital Management LLC has acquired a new position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB), purchasing 17,382 shares valued at approximately $489,000 in the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have generally given United Community Banks a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $34.57.
• United Community Banks recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.24, which represents an annualized yield of 3.2%.

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 17,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $489,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of UCB. Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the first quarter valued at $37,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB purchased a new stake in United Community Banks during the first quarter valued at about $45,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC purchased a new stake in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, CWM LLC purchased a new stake in United Community Banks during the first quarter valued at about $62,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on UCB. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $36.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial restated a "market perform" rating on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price objective on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $34.57.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.94, for a total transaction of $49,999.04. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 78,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,425,541.30. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

United Community Banks Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:UCB traded up $0.70 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.60. 580,320 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 723,515. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 52-week low of $22.93 and a 52-week high of $35.38. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $30.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.49 and a beta of 0.83.

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, 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%. United Community Banks's quarterly revenue was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. United Community Banks's payout ratio is presently 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.