United Community Banks' (UCB) "Buy" Rating Reiterated at DA Davidson

Key Points

• DA Davidson reiterated a "Buy" rating on United Community Banks with a $39.00 price target (implying ~19% upside), while the Street consensus sits at a "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $38.40 (four Buy / four Hold).
• Q1 results were steady: adjusted EPS of $0.70 met estimates and revenue rose ~11.6% YoY, and management flagged modest NIM expansion while announcing an acquisition of Peach State Bancshares (~$100.8M) expected to deliver ~40% cost savings and be modestly accretive.
• Valuation and sentiment are mixed: shares traded around $32.74 with a P/E of 12.52, but some analysts note a slight premium to peers on forward multiples and have trimmed ratings, which could constrain near-term upside.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by research analysts at DA Davidson in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $39.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson's price objective suggests a potential upside of 19.12% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on UCB. Weiss Ratings raised United Community Banks from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Hovde Group cut United Community Banks from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $38.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens lifted their price target on United Community Banks from $37.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Zacks Research cut United Community Banks from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Community Banks presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $38.40.

United Community Banks Price Performance

Shares of NYSE UCB traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $32.74. 543,694 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 930,368. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. United Community Banks has a 52-week low of $26.24 and a 52-week high of $36.77. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $32.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.07.

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70. The company had revenue of $277.30 million for the quarter. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 9.49% and a net margin of 21.35%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that United Community Banks will post 3.02 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Alan H. Kumler sold 12,043 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.36, for a total transaction of $425,840.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 21,096 shares in the company, valued at approximately $745,954.56. This represents a 36.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.45% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UCB. AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in United Community Banks by 82.4% in the third quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 122,631 shares of the company's stock worth $3,844,000 after buying an additional 55,402 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its position in United Community Banks by 14.4% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 473,855 shares of the company's stock worth $14,855,000 after buying an additional 59,650 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the third quarter worth about $1,831,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in United Community Banks by 1.0% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,337,524 shares of the company's stock worth $198,681,000 after buying an additional 61,465 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP purchased a new stake in United Community Banks in the third quarter worth about $13,423,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting United Community Banks

Here are the key news stories impacting United Community Banks this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Strong top-line and margin signal — Q1 revenue rose ~11.6% and management flagged 3–5 bps of NIM expansion for Q2, supporting improved earnings quality and pre-tax, pre-provision income. Q1 Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Acquisition adds scale with cost synergies — United agreed to acquire Peach State Bancshares (approx. $100.8M deal) and outlined ~40% cost savings for the target, which should be modestly accretive and extend regional footprint. Merger Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst target nudged higher — Piper Sandler raised its price target to $36 (still a "neutral" rating), signaling modest analyst confidence in the outlook and implying upside from current levels. Price Target Note
• Neutral Sentiment: EPS essentially in line — Reported adjusted EPS of $0.70 matched consensus, so Q1 was steady but not a beat that would strongly re-rate the stock. Earnings Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation and growth concerns — Analysis notes UCB trades at a slight premium to peers on forward P/E and price/TBV while expected growth may not justify that premium, which could limit upside. Seeking Alpha Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: Small estimate shortfall noted — Some outlets flagged a tiny miss versus certain consensus ($0.70 vs $0.71 on Zacks’ view), fueling short-term selling by traders focused on beats/misses. Zacks Report

United Community Banks Company Profile

United Community Banks, Inc NYSE: UCB is a bank holding company headquartered in Blairsville, Georgia. It operates primarily through its subsidiary, United Community Bank, providing a broad range of banking and financial services to individual, business and governmental customers. The company's core offerings include deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, treasury and cash management services, and wealth management.

In addition to traditional banking products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, United Community Bank specializes in commercial real estate financing, small business administration (SBA) loans, equipment financing and agricultural lending.

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