United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Lowered to Sell Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Monday.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of United Bankshares in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on United Bankshares from $46.00 to $45.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday.

United Bankshares Price Performance

UBSI stock opened at $38.90 on Monday. United Bankshares has a one year low of $30.68 and a one year high of $44.43. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $39.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.26 billion, a PE ratio of 14.73 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.01. United Bankshares had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 7.58%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that United Bankshares will post 2.73 earnings per share for the current year.

United Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. United Bankshares’s payout ratio is 56.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at United Bankshares

In related news, Director J Paul Mcnamara sold 2,500 shares of United Bankshares stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total value of $107,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 63,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,717,709.74. The trade was a 3.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark R. Nesselroad sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.16, for a total transaction of $234,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,424 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,387,203.84. This represents a 14.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,500 shares of company stock worth $542,110 over the last 90 days. 3.66% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of United Bankshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Choreo LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Bankshares in the fourth quarter worth $206,000. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in United Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth $250,000. Milestone Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in United Bankshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $201,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of United Bankshares by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 20,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $755,000 after purchasing an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 61.7% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,916 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 2,258 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.80% of the company’s stock.

United Bankshares Company Profile

United Bankshares, Inc, through its subsidiaries, primarily provides commercial and retail banking products and services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Community Banking and Mortgage Banking. The company accepts checking, savings, and time and money market accounts; individual retirement accounts; and demand deposits, statement and special savings, and NOW accounts.