UCB Should I Buy

DA Davidson raised the firm's price target on United Community Banks to $40 from $39 and keeps a Buy rating on the shares. The company's sale of Navitas equipment finance business is a net positive for over the medium-to-long term as it eliminates a non-core part of the regional banking story that had driven an outsized proportion of its net charge-offs, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The decision to sell also highlights the management's increasing confidence in its ability to accelerate loan growth, the firm added.