Analysts Set United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) Target Price at $44.67

United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $44.6667.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on UBSI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of United Bankshares from $40.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research lowered shares of United Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of United Bankshares from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Stephens boosted their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $47.00 price objective on shares of United Bankshares in a report on Monday, January 26th.

United Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ UBSI opened at $40.36 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. United Bankshares has a twelve month low of $30.50 and a twelve month high of $45.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $41.99 and its 200 day moving average is $39.16.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $430.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.50 million. United Bankshares had a return on equity of 8.60% and a net margin of 25.51%.During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that United Bankshares will post 2.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. United Bankshares’s payout ratio is currently 46.48%.

Institutional Trading of United Bankshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UBSI. Norges Bank bought a new stake in United Bankshares in the fourth quarter worth $68,366,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake 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 worth $70,528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,521,864 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 74.7% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,625,205 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $62,408,000 after acquiring an additional 694,953 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 75.1% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,177,051 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,199,000 after acquiring an additional 504,986 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of United Bankshares by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 782,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $29,109,000 after purchasing an additional 307,159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.80% of the company’s stock.

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.