Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Position in United Bankshares, Inc. $UBSI

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in United Bankshares, Inc. by 0.8%, retaining approximately 5.44% ownership of the company, worth about $270.37 million after selling over 66,000 shares.
• Despite the stake reduction by Dimensional Fund Advisors, several other institutional investors significantly increased their positions in United Bankshares, with Farther Finance Advisors LLC seeing a staggering 726.5% increase.
• United Bankshares reported earnings per share of $0.85 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, while its stock was trading at $36.89, down 2.2% on the day reported.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lowered its position in United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI - Free Report) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,798,576 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 66,113 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 5.44% of United Bankshares worth $270,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 12,432 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $467,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in United Bankshares by 0.8% in the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 42,211 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,463,000 after buying an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its position in shares of United Bankshares by 1.8% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 20,813 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in United Bankshares by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 73,655 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,766,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of United Bankshares by 44.4% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,699 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 522 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of United Bankshares from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of United Bankshares to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of United Bankshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.50.

United Bankshares Trading Up 4.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:UBSI traded up $1.7330 on Friday, hitting $38.6430. 170,334 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 780,110. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $36.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.66 and a beta of 0.79. United Bankshares, Inc. has a 12 month low of $30.50 and a 12 month high of $44.43.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $306.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $297.98 million. United Bankshares had a return on equity of 7.65% and a net margin of 23.14%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.71 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

United Bankshares Profile

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.