United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $40.52 and last traded at $40.4120, with a volume of 261587 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.28.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UBSI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $42.50 price objective on shares of United Bankshares and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of United Bankshares in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut United Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, United Bankshares has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $41.83.

United Bankshares Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $37.88 and a 200 day moving average of $37.31.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.10. United Bankshares had a net margin of 24.37% and a return on equity of 8.15%. The business had revenue of $280.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.70 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Bankshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 12th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from United Bankshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. United Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.84%.

Institutional Trading of United Bankshares

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in United Bankshares by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,741,908 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $288,076,000 after acquiring an additional 24,631 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 1.2% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,624,628 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $134,872,000 after purchasing an additional 42,255 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,590,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,817,000 after buying an additional 110,305 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 367.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,935,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $70,528,000 after buying an additional 1,521,864 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in United Bankshares during the second quarter worth about $60,618,000. 70.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

United Bankshares Company Profile

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.