Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 182,397 Shares of United Community Banks, Inc. $UCB

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,520,132 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 182,397 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.05% of United Community Banks worth $205,315,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at $48,450,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter valued at about $34,183,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $43,103,000 after purchasing an additional 571,296 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in United Community Banks by 125.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 774,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,286,000 after purchasing an additional 431,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in United Community Banks by 105.9% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 766,552 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,031,000 after purchasing an additional 394,263 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Community Banks

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total value of $49,965.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 84,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,796,005.73. The trade was a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.45% of the company’s stock.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE UCB opened at $35.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The firm has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.81. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $34.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.49. United Community Banks, Inc. has a one year low of $28.65 and a one year high of $37.18.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.80 by ($0.09). United Community Banks had a net margin of 24.43% and a return on equity of 9.61%. 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 year.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UCB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $36.00 to $40.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings raised United Community Banks from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $37.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently 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.