Smith Thornton Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB)

Smith Thornton Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 16,857 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $474,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter worth approximately $62,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter worth approximately $1,581,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter worth approximately $1,043,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter worth approximately $489,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the first quarter worth approximately $963,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Hovde Group raised United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $32.00 to $31.00 in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. DA Davidson decreased their price target on 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 reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $36.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $32.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $33.14.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UCB traded up $0.27 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $30.97. 552,818 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 662,393. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. United Community Banks, Inc. has a 1 year low of $22.93 and a 1 year high of $35.38.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 15th were paid a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. 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.