First Trust Advisors LP Increases Holdings in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCBI)

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 30th, 2023

First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCBI – Get Rating) by 41.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 119,274 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 34,750 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.11% of United Community Banks worth $4,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in UCBI. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Community Banks by 19.1% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,623,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $543,687,000 after buying an additional 2,505,834 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the first quarter worth approximately $75,829,000. State Street Corp increased its stake in United Community Banks by 34.7% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,258,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,903,000 after acquiring an additional 1,611,842 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in United Community Banks by 9.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,753,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $409,029,000 after acquiring an additional 1,034,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,276,000. 85.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on UCBI shares. Stephens began coverage on United Community Banks in a research note on Monday, April 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $30.00 in a research note on Monday, April 24th. StockNews.com began coverage on United Community Banks in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Truist Financial lowered their target price on United Community Banks from $30.00 to $29.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $31.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.80.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of UCBI opened at $23.32 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $25.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.74. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12 month low of $20.37 and a 12 month high of $39.50.

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCBI – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $241.68 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $248.78 million. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 11.48% and a net margin of 27.77%. The business’s revenue was up 19.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.25%.

United Community Banks Company Profile

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United Community Banks, Inc is a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of consumer and business banking services. The firm caters to individuals and small and medium-sized businesses. It offers checking, savings, mortgages, borrowing, digital baking, credit cards, and investing services.