United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $41.76 and last traded at $41.92, with a volume of 93705 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $40.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on UBSI shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of United Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Bankshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $42.50 price objective on shares of United Bankshares and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.83.

United Bankshares Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $38.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.54. The stock has a market cap of $5.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73 and a beta of 0.78.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $280.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.78 million. United Bankshares had a net margin of 24.37% and a return on equity of 8.15%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.70 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Bankshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. This is a positive change from United Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. United Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is 49.84%.

Institutional Trading of United Bankshares

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake 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 worth $288,076,000 after acquiring an additional 24,631 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 42,255 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in United Bankshares by 3.2% in 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 during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased 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 buying an additional 1,521,864 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of United Bankshares during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,618,000. 70.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.