United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 322,349 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 38% from the previous session’s volume of 522,590 shares.The stock last traded at $38.33 and had previously closed at $38.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UBSI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of United Bankshares from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of United Bankshares from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of United Bankshares from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.25.

United Bankshares Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.69 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $37.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.60.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.07. United Bankshares had a net margin of 22.44% and a return on equity of 7.72%. The firm had revenue of $255.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $255.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. United Bankshares’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. United Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 56.49%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UBSI. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. increased its stake in United Bankshares by 14.8% in the 1st quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,311,291 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $46,931,000 after purchasing an additional 169,200 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in United Bankshares by 77.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 316,889 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,899,000 after purchasing an additional 138,317 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in United Bankshares by 218.2% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 29,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 20,350 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in United Bankshares by 77.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 69,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,503,000 after purchasing an additional 30,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board purchased a new position in United Bankshares in the 1st quarter worth about $901,000. 70.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.