United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) Increases Dividend to $0.26 Per Share

Key Points

• United Community Banks raised its quarterly dividend 4% to $0.26 per share from $0.25. Shareholders of record on September 15 will be paid on October 5, with the dividend yielding approximately 2.8% annually.
• The stock opened at $36.75, near its 52-week high of $37.18, with a $4.40 billion market capitalization and a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09.
• Second-quarter earnings came in below expectations at $0.71 per share versus the $0.80 consensus estimate, while company insiders recently sold shares and institutional investors own 82.29% of the stock.

United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, August 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of 0.26 per share on Monday, October 5th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This is a 4.0% increase from United Community Banks's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25.

United Community Banks has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

NYSE UCB opened at $36.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $35.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.72. United Community Banks has a twelve month low of $28.65 and a twelve month high of $37.18.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $279.28 million during the quarter. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 24.43%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Community Banks will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 83,228 shares in the company, valued at $2,920,470.52. The trade was a 1.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of the 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 directly owned 37,433 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,325,502.53. This represents a 40.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.45% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,514,731 shares of the company's stock valued at $453,150,000 after buying an additional 120,156 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 2.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,520,132 shares of the company's stock worth $205,315,000 after buying an additional 182,397 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,805,308 shares of the company's stock worth $56,362,000 after buying an additional 124,347 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $55,195,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,450,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company's stock.

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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