United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Key Points

• United Bankshares beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $0.94 in EPS versus the $0.93 consensus estimate, up from $0.92 in the prior-year period. The company posted a 9.39% return on equity and a 27.97% net margin.
• The stock rose 1.1% to $47.71, near its 52-week high of $49.62. Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $47.80.
• United Bankshares paid a quarterly dividend of $0.38 per share, equivalent to $1.52 annually and a 3.2% yield. A company director also sold 3,200 shares, reducing his direct ownership by 9.03%.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.01, Zacks reports. United Bankshares had a return on equity of 9.39% and a net margin of 27.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.92 EPS.

United Bankshares Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of UBSI stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $47.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 148,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 951,341. The company has a market cap of $6.50 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $47.05 and its 200-day simple moving average is $45.75. United Bankshares has a 52 week low of $34.68 and a 52 week high of $49.62.

United Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. United Bankshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 41.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark Nesselroad sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.42, for a total transaction of $148,544.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,224 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,495,838.08. This represents a 9.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 3.16% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on UBSI. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of United Bankshares in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Wall Street Zen raised shares of United Bankshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 25th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Bankshares from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on United Bankshares from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on United Bankshares from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.80.

About United Bankshares

United Bankshares, Inc is a financial holding company that operates through its subsidiary, United Bank. The company provides a broad range of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses, nonprofit organizations and government entities.

United Bank's offerings include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, commercial and industrial financing, treasury management and online and mobile banking.

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