Latest news with #UnitedCommunityBanks
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
3 Reasons to Avoid UCB and 1 Stock to Buy Instead
Over the past six months, United Community Banks's stock price fell to $27.79. Shareholders have lost 10.5% of their capital, which is disappointing considering the S&P 500 has climbed by 1.9%. This may have investors wondering how to approach the situation. Is there a buying opportunity in United Community Banks, or does it present a risk to your portfolio? Dive into our full research report to see our analyst team's opinion, it's free. Even with the cheaper entry price, we're swiping left on United Community Banks for now. Here are three reasons why there are better opportunities than UCB and a stock we'd rather own. We at StockStory place the most emphasis on long-term growth, but within financials, a stretched historical view may miss recent interest rate changes, market returns, and industry trends. United Community Banks's recent performance shows its demand has slowed significantly as its annualized revenue growth of 1.8% over the last two years was well below its five-year trend. Net interest margin represents how much a bank earns in relation to its outstanding loans. It's one of the most important metrics to track because it shows how a bank's loans are performing and whether it has the ability to command higher premiums for its services. Over the past two years, we can see that United Community Banks's net interest margin averaged a subpar 3.3%. This metric is well below other banks, signaling its loans aren't very profitable. Analyzing the long-term change in earnings per share (EPS) shows whether a company's incremental sales were profitable – for example, revenue could be inflated through excessive spending on advertising and promotions. United Community Banks's EPS grew at an unimpressive 1.1% compounded annual growth rate over the last five years, lower than its 10.6% annualized revenue growth. This tells us the company became less profitable on a per-share basis as it expanded. United Community Banks's business quality ultimately falls short of our standards. Following the recent decline, the stock trades at 0.9× forward P/B (or $27.79 per share). This valuation tells us it's a bit of a market darling with a lot of good news priced in - you can find more timely opportunities elsewhere. Let us point you toward one of our top software and edge computing picks. The market surged in 2024 and reached record highs after Donald Trump's presidential victory in November, but questions about new economic policies are adding much uncertainty for 2025. While the crowd speculates what might happen next, we're homing in on the companies that can succeed regardless of the political or macroeconomic environment. Put yourself in the driver's seat and build a durable portfolio by checking out our Top 5 Strong Momentum Stocks for this week. This is a curated list of our High Quality stocks that have generated a market-beating return of 183% over the last five years (as of March 31st 2025). Stocks that made our list in 2020 include now familiar names such as Nvidia (+1,545% between March 2020 and March 2025) as well as under-the-radar businesses like the once-micro-cap company Tecnoglass (+1,754% five-year return). Find your next big winner with StockStory today. Connectez-vous pour accéder à votre portefeuille
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
United Community Banks (NYSE:UCB) Has Affirmed Its Dividend Of $0.24
United Community Banks, Inc. (NYSE:UCB) will pay a dividend of $0.24 on the 4th of April. This means that the annual payment will be 3.0% of the current stock price, which is in line with the average for the industry. See our latest analysis for United Community Banks We like to see a healthy dividend yield, but that is only helpful to us if the payment can continue. Having distributed dividends for at least 10 years, United Community Banks has a long history of paying out a part of its earnings to shareholders. Past distributions do not necessarily guarantee future ones, but United Community Banks' payout ratio of 46% is a good sign as this means that earnings decently cover dividends. The next 3 years are set to see EPS grow by 46.4%. The future payout ratio could be 37% over that time period, according to analyst estimates, which is a good look for the future of the dividend. The company has a sustained record of paying dividends with very little fluctuation. The annual payment during the last 10 years was $0.12 in 2015, and the most recent fiscal year payment was $0.96. This implies that the company grew its distributions at a yearly rate of about 23% over that duration. Rapidly growing dividends for a long time is a very valuable feature for an income stock. The company's investors will be pleased to have been receiving dividend income for some time. However, initial appearances might be deceiving. In the last five years, United Community Banks' earnings per share has shrunk at approximately 2.4% per annum. If the company is making less over time, it naturally follows that it will also have to pay out less in dividends. Earnings are forecast to grow over the next 12 months and if that happens we could still be a little bit cautious until it becomes a pattern. Overall, a consistent dividend is a good thing, and we think that United Community Banks has the ability to continue this into the future. While the payments look sustainable for now, earnings have been shrinking so the dividend could come under pressure in the future. Taking all of this into consideration, the dividend looks viable moving forward, but investors should be mindful that the company has pushed the boundaries of sustainability in the past and may do so again. Investors generally tend to favour companies with a consistent, stable dividend policy as opposed to those operating an irregular one. Still, investors need to consider a host of other factors, apart from dividend payments, when analysing a company. Given that earnings are not growing, the dividend does not look nearly so attractive. Businesses can change though, and we think it would make sense to see what analysts are forecasting for the company. Looking for more high-yielding dividend ideas? Try our collection of strong dividend payers. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
United Community Banks Full Year 2024 Earnings: EPS Beats Expectations, Revenues Lag
Revenue: US$901.2m (up 12% from FY 2023). Net income: US$244.6m (up 35% from FY 2023). Profit margin: 27% (up from 23% in FY 2023). The increase in margin was driven by higher revenue. EPS: US$2.04 (up from US$1.54 in FY 2023). Net interest margin (NIM): 3.29% (down from 3.35% in FY 2023). Cost-to-income ratio: 57.2% (up from 56.2% in FY 2023). Non-performing loans: 0.62% (up from 0.50% in FY 2023). All figures shown in the chart above are for the trailing 12 month (TTM) period Revenue missed analyst estimates by 2.1%. Earnings per share (EPS) exceeded analyst estimates by 2.9%. In the last 12 months, the only revenue segment was Community Banking contributing US$901.2m. The largest operating expense was General & Administrative costs, amounting to US$481.9m (73% of total expenses). Explore how UCB's revenue and expenses shape its earnings. Looking ahead, revenue is forecast to grow 11% p.a. on average during the next 2 years, compared to a 7.3% growth forecast for the Banks industry in the US. Performance of the American Banks industry. The company's shares are up 2.8% from a week ago. Don't forget that there may still be risks. For instance, we've identified 1 warning sign for United Community Banks that you should be aware of. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sign in to access your portfolio
