GAMMA Investing LLC Buys New Stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 132,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,714,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $450,141,000. FMR LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $310,166,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $195,766,000. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $148,763,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $113,536,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on UCB shares. Hovde Group raised shares of United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $36.00 target price on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $33.14.

United Community Banks Stock Down 2.2%

NASDAQ:UCB opened at $29.17 on Thursday. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.93 and a 1-year high of $35.38. The company has a 50-day moving average of $27.48 and a 200 day moving average of $30.20. The firm has a market cap of $3.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th will be paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.50%.

United Community Banks Profile

United Community Banks, Inc operates as the financial holding company for United Community Bank that provides financial products and services to commercial, retail, government, education, energy, health care, and real estate sectors. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts.