Freestone Grove Partners LP Makes New Investment in United Bankshares, Inc. $UBSI

Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 21,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $745,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd bought a new stake in shares of United Bankshares in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. bought a new position in United Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in United Bankshares by 196.2% during the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 856 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 567 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in United Bankshares by 64.4% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in United Bankshares in the second quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on UBSI. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of United Bankshares from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on United Bankshares from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Bankshares in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Wall Street Zen raised United Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Finally, Hovde Group upped 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Bankshares currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.80.

United Bankshares Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ:UBSI opened at $47.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $47.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.38. United Bankshares, Inc. has a 52-week low of $34.10 and a 52-week high of $49.62.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $323.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $320.07 million. United Bankshares had a return on equity of 9.39% and a net margin of 27.97%.During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.85 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. United Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.42%.

About United Bankshares

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.