United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.37

United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 24th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 0.37 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%.

United Bankshares has increased its dividend by an average of 1.6% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 26 years. United Bankshares has a dividend payout ratio of 48.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect United Bankshares to earn $3.08 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 48.1%.

United Bankshares Stock Performance

UBSI stock traded down $0.16 during trading on Monday, reaching $35.37. 699,773 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 587,344. The firm has a market cap of $4.78 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $38.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.39. United Bankshares has a 1-year low of $30.68 and a 1-year high of $44.43.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. United Bankshares had a net margin of 22.94% and a return on equity of 7.60%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that United Bankshares will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on UBSI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on United Bankshares from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of United Bankshares in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of United Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Insider Activity at United Bankshares

In other news, Director Mark R. Nesselroad sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.16, for a total value of $234,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,387,203.84. This represents a 14.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director J Paul Mcnamara sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total transaction of $107,150.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 63,409 shares in the company, valued at $2,717,709.74. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.66% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About United Bankshares

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.