United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.60.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Hovde Group initiated coverage on United Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $49.00 target price on the stock. Zacks Research lowered United Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on United Bankshares from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Wall Street Zen downgraded United Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Bankshares in a research note on Monday.

Institutional Trading of United Bankshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UBSI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $68,366,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of United Bankshares during the first quarter worth about $34,476,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in United Bankshares by 74.7% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,625,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,408,000 after buying an additional 694,953 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in United Bankshares by 75.1% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,177,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,199,000 after buying an additional 504,986 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in United Bankshares by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 782,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,109,000 after buying an additional 307,159 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.80% of the company’s stock.

United Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of UBSI stock opened at $45.93 on Friday. United Bankshares has a 52-week low of $34.10 and a 52-week high of $47.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $44.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.62.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.85 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $316.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.15 million. United Bankshares had a net margin of 27.45% and a return on equity of 9.26%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that United Bankshares will post 3.64 earnings per share for the current year.

United Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were issued a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. United Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.58%.

United Bankshares Company Profile

United Bankshares, Inc, headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia, is a bank holding company that provides a full range of financial services through its primary subsidiary, United Bank. The company’s core offerings include retail and commercial banking products such as checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and business loans, mortgages, and treasury management services. In addition, United Bankshares delivers private banking, wealth management, trust and fiduciary solutions, and investment advisory services to meet the needs of individual, corporate, and institutional clients.

United Bankshares operates an extensive branch network across West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.