United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded United Bankshares from “hold” to “sell.” Other analysts are more positive, but the overall consensus remains “hold,” with a $49.20 price target.
• For its latest quarter, the bank reported earnings of $0.94 per share, slightly above estimates, while revenue of $325.1 million came in below forecasts.
• Director Mark Nesselroad sold 3,200 shares in September, reducing his holdings by 9.03%; institutional investors own 70.8% of the stock.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on UBSI. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on United Bankshares from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of United Bankshares from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of United Bankshares from $51.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Hovde Group lifted their target price on shares of United Bankshares from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, United Bankshares has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $49.20.

United Bankshares Price Performance

United Bankshares stock opened at $48.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.97. United Bankshares has a 52 week low of $34.68 and a 52 week high of $50.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.05 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.27 and a 200-day moving average of $45.13.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.01. United Bankshares had a return on equity of 9.37% and a net margin of 28.03%. The business had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $327.23 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.92 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that United Bankshares will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mark Nesselroad sold 3,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.42, for a total transaction of $148,544.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,495,838.08. This trade represents a 9.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 3.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Bankshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UBSI. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 35.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 851 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of United Bankshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $43,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of United Bankshares by 140.6% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,032 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 603 shares during the period. Nykredit A S acquired a new position in shares of United Bankshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in United Bankshares during the third quarter worth $53,000. 70.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

United Bankshares Company Profile

United Bankshares, Inc. is a bank holding company whose principal subsidiary, United Bank, provides commercial and consumer banking services. Its offerings include deposit accounts, business and personal loans, mortgage lending, and online and mobile banking, as well as wealth management and trust services. Based in Charleston, West Virginia, United Bankshares serves customers through branches and other banking channels across the Mid-Atlantic and parts of the Southeast, including West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Ohio, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.