DA Davidson Has Negative Forecast for UCB FY2025 Earnings

United Community Banks, Inc. (NASDAQ:UCB) – Investment analysts at DA Davidson dropped their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for United Community Banks in a report released on Wednesday, April 2nd. DA Davidson analyst G. Tenner now expects that the company will post earnings of $2.41 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $2.43. 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’ FY2025 earnings at $2.41 EPS.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $35.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of United Community Banks from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Hovde Group cut their price objective on United Community Banks from $36.00 to $32.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th.

United Community Banks Stock Down 5.0 %

UCB opened at $24.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $2.89 billion, a PE ratio of 11.85 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.75 and its 200-day moving average is $30.98. United Community Banks has a one year low of $23.41 and a one year high of $35.38.

United Community Banks Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. United Community Banks’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,527 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.72, for a total value of $49,963.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 67,876 shares in the company, valued at $2,220,902.72. This represents a 2.20 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO H Lynn Harton sold 31,679 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.84, for a total transaction of $1,072,017.36. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 112,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,805,104.96. This represents a 21.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Community Banks

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in United Community Banks during the first quarter valued at $654,000. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in United Community Banks in the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,492,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System bought a new position in United Community Banks during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,602,000. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.