DA Davidson Has Bullish Forecast for UCB FY2025 Earnings

United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB - Free Report) - Analysts at DA Davidson upped their FY2025 EPS estimates for United Community Banks in a research report issued on Thursday, April 24th. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now forecasts that the company will earn $2.53 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $2.41. DA Davidson has a "Buy" rating and a $33.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for United Community Banks' current full-year earnings is $2.52 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for United Community Banks' FY2026 earnings at $2.77 EPS.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Hovde Group raised shares of United Community Banks from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $32.00 to $31.00 in a report on Monday, April 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective 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. Piper Sandler raised their target price on 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, Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $36.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, United Community Banks has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $33.14.

United Community Banks Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UCB traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $28.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 57,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 675,412. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $27.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.50. United Community Banks has a one year low of $22.93 and a one year high of $35.38.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. United Community Banks's payout ratio is 45.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sally Pope Davis acquired 1,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.19 per share, with a total value of $50,742.00. Following the acquisition, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO H Lynn Harton sold 31,679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total value of $1,072,017.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 112,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,805,104.96. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.54% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 4th quarter worth approximately $508,000. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth $10,686,000. Swiss National Bank purchased a new stake in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,573,000. Corebridge Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,057,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans purchased a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth about $3,243,000. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company's stock.

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.