Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Makes New $743,000 Investment in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 23,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $743,000.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $80,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter valued at $124,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter worth $174,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,527 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.72, for a total value of $49,963.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 67,876 shares in the company, valued at $2,220,902.72. The trade was a 2.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sally Pope Davis purchased 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were bought at an average price of $28.19 per share, with a total value of $50,742.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,264 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $92,012.16. The trade was a 122.95 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on UCB shares. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and decreased their target price for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Community Banks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.33.

United Community Banks Price Performance

NASDAQ UCB traded up $0.44 on Thursday, hitting $27.07. The company had a trading volume of 152,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 672,714. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 13.28 and a beta of 0.80. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.93 and a 12-month high of $35.38. The company's fifty day moving average price is $28.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.52.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.06%.

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.