United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in United Community Banks by 32.3% in Q1, buying 187,210 more shares and bringing its holdings to 766,598 shares worth about $24.14 million.
• The company reported second-quarter earnings of $0.70 per share, matching analyst expectations, while revenue rose 11.6% year over year to $278.26 million.
• United Community Banks paid a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share and currently offers an annualized yield of 2.8%; analysts now have a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $38.40.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Free Report) by 32.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 766,598 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 187,210 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.64% of United Community Banks worth $24,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in United Community Banks by 3,485.6% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 27,358 shares of the company's stock worth $862,000 after acquiring an additional 26,595 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in United Community Banks by 365.9% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 114,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,615,000 after acquiring an additional 90,234 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks in the 1st quarter worth approximately $222,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in United Community Banks by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,852 shares of the company's stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,540 shares of the company's stock worth $615,000 after purchasing an additional 779 shares during the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

United Community Banks Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of United Community Banks stock opened at $36.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 0.81. 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 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $34.04 and a 200 day moving average of $33.39.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $278.26 million during the quarter. United Community Banks's revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 3.02 earnings per share for the current 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on UCB shares. Hovde Group dropped their price target on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on United Community Banks from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Stephens upped their target price on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered United Community Banks from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, United Community Banks has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $38.40.

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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