Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Price Target to $45.00

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) had its target price trimmed by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $46.00 to $45.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a market perform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of United Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $43.00 price target on shares of United Bankshares in a research report on Monday.

United Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ:UBSI opened at $38.31 on Monday. United Bankshares has a twelve month low of $30.68 and a twelve month high of $44.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $5.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51 and a beta of 1.03. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.29.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.69 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that United Bankshares will post 2.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. United Bankshares’s payout ratio is 54.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director J Paul Mcnamara sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.86, for a total value of $107,150.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 63,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,717,709.74. This represents a 3.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mark R. Nesselroad sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 35,424 shares in the company, 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,500 shares of company stock valued at $542,110. Company insiders own 3.66% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of United Bankshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 14,833 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,306,542 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $122,695,000 after buying an additional 53,994 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in United Bankshares by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,673,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $62,070,000 after acquiring an additional 83,503 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. lifted its position in United Bankshares by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 1,612,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $60,538,000 after acquiring an additional 54,089 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in United Bankshares by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 1,221,493 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $45,317,000 after purchasing an additional 16,782 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, 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.