United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Sell”

by · The Cerbat Gem

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI – Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Bankshares in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of United Bankshares from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of United Bankshares from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of United Bankshares from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Bankshares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.80.

Get Our Latest Research Report on UBSI

United Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of UBSI opened at $48.67 on Friday. United Bankshares has a 1 year low of $34.68 and a 1 year high of $49.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $6.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.19 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $47.02 and a 200-day moving average of $45.82.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.01. United Bankshares had a return on equity of 9.33% and a net margin of 28.03%. The company had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that United Bankshares will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

United Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. United Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Nesselroad sold 3,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.42, for a total transaction of $148,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,224 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,495,838.08. This trade represents a 9.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Bankshares

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Bankshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $925,212,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in United Bankshares by 0.7% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 277,836 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in United Bankshares by 0.8% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,362,254 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $56,425,000 after acquiring an additional 10,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in United Bankshares by 7.5% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 570,961 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $23,649,000 after purchasing an additional 39,712 shares during the period. 70.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More United Bankshares News

Here are the key news stories impacting United Bankshares this week:

  • Positive Sentiment: EPS beat expectations and improved year over year. UBSI reported diluted earnings of $0.94 per share, up from $0.92 a year earlier and ahead of the approximately $0.93 consensus estimate. Net income was $128.7 million. United Bankshares quarterly earnings report
  • Positive Sentiment: Record net interest income and improving margins provide the strongest bullish catalyst. Net interest income reached $294.3 million, an $8.9 million sequential increase, while net interest margin expanded to 3.86% from 3.81% in the second quarter. These trends suggest improved core banking profitability. United Bankshares third-quarter earnings details
  • Neutral Sentiment: Revenue was broadly in line but slightly below the consensus forecast. Quarterly revenue totaled $325.1 million versus analyst estimates of roughly $327.2 million. Zacks characterized the $0.94 EPS result as meeting its consensus estimate, indicating limited surprise overall. United Bankshares sales in line with estimates
  • Negative Sentiment: Several profitability headwinds remain. Third-quarter net income declined from $130.7 million a year earlier and $131.4 million in the prior quarter. The provision for credit losses rose to $6.2 million from $5.0 million sequentially, noninterest income fell by $7.7 million, and noninterest expense increased by $2.0 million. These factors could limit further upside despite strong spread income. United Bankshares credit results

About United Bankshares

(Get Free Report)

United Bankshares, Inc is a financial holding company that operates through its subsidiary, United Bank. The company provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations and government entities.

United Bank’s offerings include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, commercial and industrial financing, treasury management and online and mobile banking.

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