Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in Northwest Bancshares, Inc., United Community Banks, Inc., United Community Banks or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how Northwest Bancshares, Inc., United Community Banks, Inc., United Community Banks and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About Northwest Bancshares, Inc., United Community Banks, Inc., United Community Banks and Inc.

Northwest Bancshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Northwest Bank, a state-chartered savings bank that provides personal and commercial banking solutions in Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and Indiana in the United States. The company accepts various deposits, including checking, savings, money market deposit, term certificate, and individual retirement accounts. It also offers loan products comprising one-to-four-family residential real estate loans, shorter-term consumer loans, and loans collateralized by multi-family residential and commercial real estate, as well as commercial business loans; residential mortgage loans; home equity loans and lines of credit; commercial real estate loans; commercial loans and financing solutions; and other consumer loans, including auto refinance loans, indirect automobile and recreational loans, unsecured personal loans, credit card loans, and loans secured by investment accounts. In addition, the company offers investment and cash management; estate and trust services; digital and online banking; certificates of deposit; credit cards; student and small business loans; private banking, planning, and investments; retirement plans; liquidity management for commercial checking and savings; treasury and wealth management; insurance; employee benefit plans; and financial planning services. It serves individuals, businesses, and charitable institutions. Northwest Bancshares, Inc. was founded in 1896 and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

United Community Banks, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for United Community Bank that provides financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts. It also provides loans comprising owner occupied and income producing CRE, commercial and industrial, equipment financing, residential mortgage, home equity, manufactured housing, and consumer loans, as well as commercial and residential construction and land. In addition, the company offers private banking, investment management, investment advice, financial planning services, estate and retirement planning, and insurance products; non-deposit investment products and insurance products, such as life insurance, long-term care insurance and tax-deferred annuities; and trust services to manage fiduciary assets. Further, it provides reinsurance on property insurance contracts and payment processing services for commercial and small business customers. The company serves the commercial, retail, government, education, energy, health care, and real estate sectors. United Community Banks, Inc. was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

United Community Banks, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for United Community Bank that provides financial services in the United States. The company offers deposit products, including checking, savings, money market, and other deposit accounts. It also provides loans comprising owner occupied and income producing CRE, commercial and industrial, equipment financing, residential mortgage, home equity, manufactured housing, and consumer loans, as well as commercial and residential construction and land. In addition, the company offers private banking, investment management, investment advice, financial planning services, estate and retirement planning, and insurance products; non-deposit investment products and insurance products, such as life insurance, long-term care insurance and tax-deferred annuities; and trust services to manage fiduciary assets. Further, it provides reinsurance on property insurance contracts and payment processing services for commercial and small business customers. The company serves the commercial, retail, government, education, energy, health care, and real estate sectors. United Community Banks, Inc. was founded in 1950 and is headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina.

Latest Banks and Northwest Bancshares, Inc., United Community Banks, Inc. Stock News

As of August 20, 2026, Northwest Bancshares, Inc. had a $2.2 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $751.0 million. Northwest Bancshares, Inc.’s stock is up 27.5% in 2026, down 2.8% in the previous five trading days and up 27.05% in the past year.

Currently, Northwest Bancshares, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 14.6. Northwest Bancshares, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $654.4 million with a 23.4% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 23.2%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $1.409 per share for the current fiscal year. Northwest Bancshares, Inc. currently has a 5.2% dividend yield.

As of August 20, 2026, United Community Banks, Inc. had a $4.3 billion market cap, putting it in the 64th percentile of all stocks. United Community Banks, Inc.’s stock is up 13.5% in 2026, down 3.5% in the previous five trading days and up 13.73% in the past year.

Currently, United Community Banks, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 11.6. United Community Banks, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.1 billion with a 34.1% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 24.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.918 per share for the current fiscal year. United Community Banks, Inc. currently has a 2.8% dividend yield.

How We Compare Northwest Bancshares, Inc., United Community Banks, Inc., United Community Banks and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at Northwest Bancshares, Inc., United Community Banks, Inc., United Community Banks and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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Northwest Bancshares, Inc., United Community Banks, Inc., United Community Banks and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company	Ticker	Value
Northwest Bancshares, Inc.	NWBI	D
United Community Banks, Inc.	UCB	B
United Community Banks, Inc.	UCB	B

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

Northwest Bancshares, Inc. has a Value Score of 32, which is Expensive. United Community Banks, Inc. has a Value Score of 70, which is Value. United Community Banks, Inc. has a Value Score of 70, which is Value.

The Value Stock Winner: United Community Banks, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Value Grade breakdown above, United Community Banks, Inc. is considered to have better value than Northwest Bancshares, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, United Community Banks, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Northwest Bancshares, Inc., United Community Banks, Inc., United Community Banks and Inc. Growth Grades

Company	Ticker	Growth
Northwest Bancshares, Inc.	NWBI	B
United Community Banks, Inc.	UCB	A
United Community Banks, Inc.	UCB	A

The foundation of growth investing is seeking out stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth that is expected to continue into the future.

In order to compute the growth score and assign it a letter grade, the percentile ranks for each of three components‐consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations‐must be determined. These three rank figures are added together, and the sum is ranked against the entire stock universe to arrive at a company’s Growth Score to create an equal distribution of grades.

The companies in the bottom 20% of the stock universe receive Growth Grades of F, considered to be very weak, while those in the top 20% receive A grades, which are considered very strong.

Northwest Bancshares, Inc. has a Growth Score of 77, which is Strong. United Community Banks, Inc. has a Growth Score of 83, which is Very Strong. United Community Banks, Inc. has a Growth Score of 83, which is Very Strong.

The Growth Grade Winner: United Community Banks, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Growth Grade breakdown above, United Community Banks, Inc. has a more attractive growth grade than Northwest Bancshares, Inc.. For investors who focus solely on how a company is growing relative to other companies in the same industry, United Community Banks, Inc. could be a good stock to add to their portfolio. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Northwest Bancshares, Inc., United Community Banks, Inc., United Community Banks and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company	Ticker	Momentum
Northwest Bancshares, Inc.	NWBI	B
United Community Banks, Inc.	UCB	C
United Community Banks, Inc.	UCB	C

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

Northwest Bancshares, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 61, which is Strong. United Community Banks, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 52, which is Average. United Community Banks, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 52, which is Average.

The Momentum Grade Winner: Northwest Bancshares, Inc.

As you can clearly see from the Momentum Grade breakdown above, Northwest Bancshares, Inc. is considered to have stronger momentum compared to United Community Banks, Inc.. For those specifically looking for companies that have stronger momentum compared to other companies in the same industry, Northwest Bancshares, Inc. could be a good stock to invest in. However, it’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

Other Northwest Bancshares, Inc., United Community Banks, Inc., United Community Banks and Inc. Grades

In addition to Growth, Momentum and Value, A+ Investor also provides grades for Estimate Revisions and Quality.

Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the ranking of key metrics. Specifically, the quality grade is the percentile rank of the composite of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and F-Score.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether Northwest Bancshares, Inc., United Community Banks, Inc., United Community Banks and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, Northwest Bancshares, Inc., United Community Banks, Inc., United Community Banks or Inc. Stock?

Overall, Northwest Bancshares, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 32, Growth Score of 77 and Momentum Score of 61.

United Community Banks, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 70, Growth Score of 83 and Momentum Score of 52.

United Community Banks, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 70, Growth Score of 83 and Momentum Score of 52.

Comparing Northwest Bancshares, Inc., United Community Banks, Inc., United Community Banks and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.