27,320 Shares in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) Acquired by Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund bought a new stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 27,320 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $769,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 4th quarter worth about $450,141,000. FMR LLC bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $310,166,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $195,766,000. Capital Research Global Investors bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $148,763,000. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC bought a new stake in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $113,536,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on UCB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Hovde Group raised United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and cut their price target for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on United Community Banks from $38.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.14.

United Community Banks Price Performance

Shares of UCB traded down $0.61 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $31.18. The company had a trading volume of 425,374 shares, compared to its average volume of 665,868. United Community Banks, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.93 and a twelve month high of $35.38. 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's 50-day moving average is $28.97 and its 200-day moving average is $29.66. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.28 and a beta of 0.78.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Investors of record on Sunday, June 15th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.08%. United Community Banks's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.50%.

About United Community Banks

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.