Citigroup Inc. Increases Stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCBI)

Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCBI – Get Rating) by 24.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 64,640 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 12,621 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in United Community Banks were worth $2,185,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in UCBI. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in United Community Banks by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,623,173 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $543,687,000 after acquiring an additional 2,505,834 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the first quarter valued at approximately $75,829,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in United Community Banks by 34.7% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,258,337 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $218,903,000 after buying an additional 1,611,842 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in United Community Banks by 9.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,753,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $409,029,000 after buying an additional 1,034,191 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,276,000. 85.41% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

UCBI opened at $23.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.84 and a beta of 0.96. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.37 and a 1 year high of $39.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $25.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.10.

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCBI – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 19th. The financial services provider reported $0.58 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $241.68 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 for the quarter was up 19.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that United Community Banks, Inc. will post 2.53 earnings per share for the current year.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 14th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens started coverage on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Monday, April 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $34.00 price objective on the stock. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on United Community Banks from $32.00 to $30.00 in a report on Monday, April 24th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective 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. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $35.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.80.

About United Community Banks

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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.