United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

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

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

United Bankshares Trading Down 1.1 %

UBSI opened at $36.54 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $36.43 and its 200-day moving average is $34.47. United Bankshares has a 1-year low of $25.35 and a 1-year high of $39.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.95 and a beta of 0.99.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $255.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $255.54 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that United Bankshares will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. United Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in United Bankshares by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 44,825 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after buying an additional 2,059 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,486,804 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $55,829,000 after acquiring an additional 60,465 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at $141,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in United Bankshares by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 41,515 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,559,000 after acquiring an additional 3,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. acquired a new stake in United Bankshares in the fourth quarter worth $243,000. 70.80% of the stock is 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.