United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) hit a new 52-week high on Tuesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The company traded as high as $44.11 and last traded at $43.48, with a volume of 150688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $43.07.

UBSI has been the topic of several other research reports. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of United Bankshares from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Bankshares in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $47.00 target price on shares of United Bankshares in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on United Bankshares from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Bankshares has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $44.67.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Bankshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of United Bankshares by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,741,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $288,076,000 after buying an additional 24,631 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in United Bankshares by 1.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,624,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,872,000 after acquiring an additional 42,255 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in United Bankshares by 3.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,590,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,817,000 after purchasing an additional 110,305 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of United Bankshares by 367.5% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,935,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,521,864 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of United Bankshares during the second quarter worth about $60,618,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.80% of the company’s stock.

United Bankshares Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $6.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $40.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $37.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $430.85 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.50 million. United Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 25.51%.During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current year.

United Bankshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from United Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. United Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.48%.

United Bankshares Company Profile

United Bankshares, Inc, headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia, is a bank holding company that provides a full range of financial services through its primary subsidiary, United Bank. The company’s core offerings include retail and commercial banking products such as checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and business loans, mortgages, and treasury management services. In addition, United Bankshares delivers private banking, wealth management, trust and fiduciary solutions, and investment advisory services to meet the needs of individual, corporate, and institutional clients.

United Bankshares operates an extensive branch network across West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.