California State Teachers Retirement System Acquires 23,142 Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 20.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 138,227 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,142 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.12% of United Community Banks worth $4,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of UCB. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in United Community Banks by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,514,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $453,150,000 after buying an additional 120,156 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 2.9% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,520,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $205,315,000 after buying an additional 182,397 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of United Community Banks by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,805,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,362,000 after acquiring an additional 124,347 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth about $48,450,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 70.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,380,627 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,103,000 after acquiring an additional 571,296 shares during the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

United Community Banks Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of UCB opened at $35.50 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.67. United Community Banks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $28.65 and a twelve month high of $37.18. The stock has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.68 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.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.09). United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.61% and a net margin of 24.43%.The business had revenue of $279.28 million during the quarter. On average, equities analysts forecast that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Insider Activity

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,424 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.09, for a total value of $49,968.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 83,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,920,470.52. The trade was a 1.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jefferson L. Harralson sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.41, for a total value of $885,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 37,433 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,325,502.53. This trade represents a 40.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on UCB shares. TD Cowen raised United Community Banks to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Hovde Group dropped their price objective on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $37.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Community Banks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $38.80.

About United Community Banks

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.