United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Reaches New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $44.11 and last traded at $43.48, with a volume of 150688 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.07.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on UBSI shares. 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 note on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of United Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of United Bankshares from $40.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of United Bankshares in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Bankshares in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $44.67.

United Bankshares Trading Up 0.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $39.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.83.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. United Bankshares had a net margin of 25.51% and a return on equity of 8.60%. The business had revenue of $430.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. On average, 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.38 per share. This is an increase from United Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 12th. United Bankshares’s payout ratio is 46.48%.

Institutional Trading of United Bankshares

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UBSI. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of United Bankshares in the third quarter worth approximately $1,886,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in United Bankshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $378,000. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 521.5% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 37,248 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,386,000 after buying an additional 31,255 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 81.8% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 22,375 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $815,000 after buying an additional 10,069 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in United Bankshares during the third quarter valued at $936,000. 70.80% of the stock is owned by 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.