United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in United Community Banks by 10.2%, now holding approximately 0.08% of the company valued at $2.81 million.
• Other notable hedge funds, such as Jane Street Group LLC and MetLife Investment Management LLC, increased their stakes significantly, with Jane Street's position rising by 655.3% to over $11 million.
• United Community Banks recently announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.25, reflecting a positive change in financial outlook with a yield of 3.0%.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC decreased its position in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) by 10.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 99,759 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,280 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC owned 0.08% of United Community Banks worth $2,806,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 655.3% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 414,225 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,652,000 after purchasing an additional 359,386 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 26.4% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 34,497 shares of the company's stock valued at $970,000 after purchasing an additional 7,201 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 671.1% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 556,231 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,647,000 after purchasing an additional 484,094 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in United Community Banks during the first quarter worth $89,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new stake in United Community Banks during the first quarter worth $480,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

United Community Banks Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of UCB stock traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $33.53. 347,703 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 704,331. The stock's 50 day moving average is $31.44 and its 200-day moving average is $29.38. The company has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. United Community Banks, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.93 and a fifty-two week high of $35.38.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 16.48%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This is a boost from United Community Banks's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. United Community Banks's payout ratio is currently 45.45%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 78,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,425,541.30. This represents a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.43% of the company's stock.

United Community Banks Company 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.