United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Meets Estimates

United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $0.70 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.70, Briefing.com reports. United Community Banks had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 9.65%. The firm had revenue of $278.26 million for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.58 earnings per share. United Community Banks’s revenue was up 11.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Here are the key takeaways from United Community Banks’ conference call:

• Reported net income of just over $84 million (EPS $0.69) and operating EPS of $0.70, a 19% YoY increase driven by 4.5% annualized loan growth and a 3 bps NIM expansion to 3.65%.
• Continued shareholder returns with a $0.25 quarterly dividend, $37 million of share repurchases in Q1, intent to redeem $100 million of sub-debt, and a plan to repurchase the $50 million in shares issued for the acquisition, while tangible book value per share grew ~6% annualized.
• Announced the Peach State Bank acquisition (~$800M assets, $713M deposits) for ~$100 million in a 50/50 cash-stock mix at 1.9x tangible book and ~6x cost-savings earnings, with estimated 40% cost saves and accretion of ~$0.09 in 2027 (?$0.12 with planned buybacks).
• Credit quality stayed resilient—total charge-offs were 22 bps (10 bps excluding Navitas), NPAs ~0.50% of loans and special mention/substandard loans 2.9%—but allowance coverage dipped slightly to 1.15% as provision matched charge-offs.

United Community Banks Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:UCB opened at $34.26 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $33.20 and its 200-day moving average is $32.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.82. United Community Banks has a 52 week low of $27.23 and a 52 week high of $36.77. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60 and a beta of 0.82.

United Community Banks Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 3rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 15th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. United Community Banks’s payout ratio is currently 36.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

UCB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stephens upped their target price on United Community Banks from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Community Banks from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $39.00 price target on shares of United Community Banks in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Community Banks from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded United Community Banks from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $36.00 to $40.00 in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Community Banks has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $38.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other United Community Banks news, EVP Richard Bradshaw sold 1,510 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.09, for a total transaction of $49,965.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 84,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,796,005.73. This represents a 1.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.45% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Community Banks

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UCB. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of United Community Banks in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,450,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of United Community Banks during the first quarter worth $34,183,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of United Community Banks by 70.6% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,380,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,103,000 after acquiring an additional 571,296 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in United Community Banks by 125.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 774,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,286,000 after acquiring an additional 431,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Azora Capital LP acquired a new stake in United Community Banks in the third quarter worth about $13,423,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

About United Community Banks

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.