United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Downgraded to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Tuesday.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on UBSI. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of United Bankshares from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on shares of United Bankshares from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of United Bankshares from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Bankshares has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $40.25.

United Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UBSI opened at $37.10 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. United Bankshares has a 12 month low of $25.35 and a 12 month high of $39.93. The stock has a market cap of $5.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.71 and a 200 day moving average of $34.51.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by $0.07. United Bankshares had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The business had revenue of $255.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $255.54 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Bankshares will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th will be issued a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.99%. United Bankshares’s payout ratio is 56.49%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Bankshares

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UBSI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of United Bankshares in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,308,000. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Bankshares by 110.4% during the 2nd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,206,434 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $71,577,000 after buying an additional 1,157,579 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in United Bankshares by 14.8% during the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,311,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $46,931,000 after buying an additional 169,200 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in United Bankshares by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,907,665 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $256,521,000 after buying an additional 142,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in United Bankshares by 77.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 316,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,899,000 after buying an additional 138,317 shares during the last quarter. 70.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.