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

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning,Wall Street Zen reports.

UBSI has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Bankshares from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Monday, November 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on United Bankshares from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on United Bankshares from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price objective on United Bankshares from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, United Bankshares currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $49.20.

United Bankshares Trading Up 0.6%

UBSI stock traded up $0.29 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.15. The company had a trading volume of 584,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 831,448. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 0.73. United Bankshares has a 52-week low of $34.68 and a 52-week high of $50.47. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $325.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.23 million. United Bankshares had a net margin of 28.03% and a return on equity of 9.37%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that United Bankshares will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. United Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mark Nesselroad sold 3,200 shares of United Bankshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.42, for a total value of $148,544.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,495,838.08. This trade represents a 9.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On United Bankshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in United Bankshares in the second quarter worth about $925,212,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,661,331 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $317,327,000 after buying an additional 56,808 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,475,230 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,772,000 after buying an additional 79,402 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 20.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,631,894 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $67,593,000 after buying an additional 277,836 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of United Bankshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $60,968,000. Institutional investors own 70.80% of the company’s stock.

United Bankshares Company Profile

United Bankshares, Inc. is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, United Bank, provides commercial and consumer banking services. Its offerings include deposit accounts, business and personal loans, mortgage lending, and online and mobile banking, as well as wealth management and trust services. Based in Charleston, West Virginia, United Bankshares serves customers through branches and other banking channels across the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Southeast, including West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Ohio, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina.