This story originally appeared on Zacks

United Community Banks (UCBI) came out with quarterly earnings of $0.64 per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $0.65 per share. This compares to earnings of $0.68 per share a year ago. These figures are adjusted for non-recurring items.

This quarterly report represents an earnings surprise of -1.54%. A quarter ago, it was expected that this bank holding company would post earnings of $0.67 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.83, delivering a surprise of 23.88%.

Over the last four quarters, the company has surpassed consensus EPS estimates three times.

United Community Banks, which belongs to the Zacks Banks – Southeast industry, posted revenues of $174.73 million for the quarter ended December 2021, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 3.76%. This compares to year-ago revenues of $186.77 million. The company has topped consensus revenue estimates three times over the last four quarters.

The sustainability of the stock’s immediate price movement based on the recently-released numbers and future earnings expectations will mostly depend on management’s commentary on the earnings call.

United Community Banks shares have added about 8.8% since the beginning of the year versus the S&P 500’s decline of -2.2%.

What’s Next for United Community Banks?

While United Community Banks has outperformed the market so far this year, the question that comes to investors’ minds is: what’s next for the stock?

There are no easy answers to this key question, but one reliable measure that can help investors address this is the company’s earnings outlook. Not only does this include current consensus earnings expectations for the coming quarter(s), but also how these expectations have changed lately.

Empirical research shows a strong correlation between near-term stock movements and trends in earnings estimate revisions. Investors can track such revisions by themselves or rely on a tried-and-tested rating tool like the Zacks Rank, which has an impressive track record of harnessing the power of earnings estimate revisions.

Ahead of this earnings release, the estimate revisions trend for United Community Banks: mixed. While the magnitude and direction of estimate revisions could change following the company’s just-released earnings report, the current status translates into a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) for the stock. So, the shares are expected to perform in line with the market in the near future. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

It will be interesting to see how estimates for the coming quarters and current fiscal year change in the days ahead. The current consensus EPS estimate is $0.55 on $210 million in revenues for the coming quarter and $2.73 on $868.87 million in revenues for the current fiscal year.

Investors should be mindful of the fact that the outlook for the industry can have a material impact on the performance of the stock as well. In terms of the Zacks Industry Rank, Banks – Southeast is currently in the top 8% of the 250 plus Zacks industries. Our research shows that the top 50% of the Zacks-ranked industries outperform the bottom 50% by a factor of more than 2 to 1.

Another stock from the same industry, First Bancorp (FBNC), has yet to report results for the quarter ended December 2021.

This bank holding company for First Bank is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.76 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -8.4%. The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days.

First Bancorp’s revenues are expected to be $86.15 million, up 13.4% from the year-ago quarter.

Just Released: Zacks Top 10 Stocks for 2022

In addition to the investment ideas discussed above, would you like to know about our 10 top picks for the entirety of 2022?

From inception in 2012 through 2021, the Zacks Top 10 Stocks portfolios gained an impressive +1,001.2% versus the S&P 500’s +348.7%. Now our Director of Research has combed through 4,000 companies covered by the Zacks Rank and has handpicked the best 10 tickers to buy and hold. Don’t miss your chance to get in…because the sooner you do, the more upside you stand to grab.

See Stocks Now >>

Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
 
United Community Banks, Inc. (UCBI): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
First Bancorp (FBNC): Free Stock Analysis Report
 
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
 
Zacks Investment Research