United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $47.52 and last traded at $47.6060, with a volume of 49298 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $46.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Hovde Group began coverage on shares of United Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $49.00 price target for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of United Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of United Bankshares from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.60.

United Bankshares Stock Up 2.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a PE ratio of 13.43 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.80.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.04. United Bankshares had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 27.45%.The business had revenue of $316.58 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.15 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 12th were paid a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 12th. United Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 42.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Bankshares

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UBSI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,661,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $317,327,000 after acquiring an additional 56,808 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,802,338 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $146,030,000 after acquiring an additional 183,950 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in United Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth about $68,366,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in United Bankshares by 20.5% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,631,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,593,000 after purchasing an additional 277,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted 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 purchasing an additional 694,953 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.80% of the company’s stock.

About United Bankshares

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.