United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Rating Lowered to “Sell” at StockNews.com

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued on Tuesday.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Stephens boosted their price objective on United Bankshares from $36.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of United Bankshares from $36.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on United Bankshares from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $40.25.

United Bankshares Stock Up 12.8 %

UBSI stock opened at $42.59 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.13 and a beta of 0.98. United Bankshares has a fifty-two week low of $29.19 and a fifty-two week high of $42.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $37.34 and a 200-day moving average of $35.34.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $414.67 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $260.30 million. United Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.58% and a net margin of 22.05%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that United Bankshares will post 2.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its holdings in United Bankshares by 16.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,558,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,805,000 after acquiring an additional 223,150 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in United Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $495,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in United Bankshares by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 336,029 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $12,466,000 after purchasing an additional 58,274 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new stake in United Bankshares in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $476,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of United Bankshares by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,997,311 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $148,300,000 after buying an additional 14,833 shares during the last quarter. 70.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.