DA Davidson Has Optimistic View of UCB FY2026 Earnings

United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) – Equities researchers at DA Davidson raised their FY2026 EPS estimates for United Community Banks in a research note issued on Monday, September 29th. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $2.96 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $2.93. DA Davidson currently has a “Buy” rating and a $36.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for United Community Banks’ current full-year earnings is $2.52 per share.

United Community Banks (NASDAQ:UCB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. United Community Banks had a return on equity of 8.64% and a net margin of 16.48%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $34.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of United Community Banks from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, United Community Banks currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $34.57.

United Community Banks Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of UCB stock opened at $31.34 on Tuesday. United Community Banks has a 1-year low of $22.93 and a 1-year high of $35.38. 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 market cap of $3.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.72 and a 200-day moving average of $29.54.

United Community Banks Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from United Community Banks’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is currently 45.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,616 shares of United Community Banks stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.94, for a total value of $49,999.04. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 78,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,425,541.30. The trade was a 2.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Community Banks

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UCB. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of United Community Banks in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Community Banks by 213.8% in the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc bought a new position in United Community Banks in the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in United Community Banks during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. 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.