Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Invests $1.22 Million in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 43,490 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,223,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rhumbline Advisers bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter worth $9,816,000. Welch Group LLC purchased a new stake in United Community Banks during the 1st quarter worth about $961,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in United Community Banks in the 1st quarter worth about $3,714,000. Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new position in United Community Banks in the 1st quarter worth about $654,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc purchased a new position in United Community Banks during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Hovde Group upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th. DA Davidson lowered their target price on shares of United Community Banks from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stephens restated an "overweight" rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $33.14.

United Community Banks Price Performance

United Community Banks stock traded down $0.95 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $28.16. 869,740 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 661,795. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. United Community Banks, Inc. has a one year low of $22.93 and a one year high of $35.38. The stock has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.16.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.50%.

United Community Banks Company 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.