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

Shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the four ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $37.50.

UBSI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens dropped their price objective on United Bankshares from $36.00 to $34.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on United Bankshares from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, DA Davidson raised their target price on United Bankshares from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday.

United Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ:UBSI traded up $0.54 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $38.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 257,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 525,121. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.09 and a 200-day simple moving average of $34.17. United Bankshares has a twelve month low of $25.35 and a twelve month high of $39.86. The company has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. United Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.72% and a net margin of 22.51%. The company had revenue of $255.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.54 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.68 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that United Bankshares will post 2.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were paid a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. United Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Bankshares

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UBSI. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in United Bankshares by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 106,471 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,998,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 72,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,704,000 after purchasing an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 79.3% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,284 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 8,972 shares in the last quarter. Courier Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of United Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $217,000. Finally, AlphaMark Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 8,740 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $328,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.80% of the company’s stock.

United Bankshares Company Profile

United Bankshares, Inc, through its subsidiaries, primarily provides commercial and retail banking products and services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Community Banking and Mortgage Banking. The company accepts checking, savings, and time and money market accounts; individual retirement accounts; and demand deposits, statement and special savings, and NOW accounts.