United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $46.42 and last traded at $46.2910, with a volume of 206182 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $45.68.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UBSI. Hovde Group began coverage on United Bankshares in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $49.00 price target on the stock. Zacks Research cut United Bankshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $49.00 target price on shares of United Bankshares in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered United Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $46.40.

United Bankshares Price 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $43.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $42.17. The company has a market capitalization of $6.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.71.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.85 by $0.04. United Bankshares had a return on equity of 9.26% and a net margin of 27.45%.The company had revenue of $316.58 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.15 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 3.64 EPS for the current year.

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 12th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. United Bankshares’s payout ratio is 42.58%.

Institutional Trading of United Bankshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of United Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at $68,366,000. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in United Bankshares in the 1st quarter worth about $34,476,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in United Bankshares by 74.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 694,953 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in United Bankshares by 75.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 504,986 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 64.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 782,292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,109,000 after purchasing an additional 307,159 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.80% of the company’s stock.

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.