Natixis Advisors LLC Trims Stake in United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC has significantly reduced its holdings in United Bankshares by 91.8% during the 1st quarter, now owning 28,358 shares valued at $983,000.
• Analysts have updated their ratings for United Bankshares, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowering their target price to $40.00 and Wall Street Zen changing its rating from "hold" to "sell."
• United Bankshares reported earnings of $0.85 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, and it declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, representing an annual yield of 4.1%.

Natixis Advisors LLC decreased its stake in shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI - Free Report) by 91.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,358 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 319,206 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in United Bankshares were worth $983,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in United Bankshares by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,199,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $157,678,000 after acquiring an additional 29,898 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in United Bankshares by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,774,018 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $66,614,000 after buying an additional 213,441 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in United Bankshares by 3.9% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,123,987 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $42,206,000 after buying an additional 41,819 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in United Bankshares by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 900,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $33,809,000 after buying an additional 61,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in United Bankshares by 0.8% in the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 458,823 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $15,907,000 after buying an additional 3,666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.80% of the company's stock.

United Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of UBSI traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $37.48. 173,558 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 789,801. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $35.86. United Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $30.50 and a 1 year high of $44.43. The stock has a market cap of $5.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of United Bankshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of United Bankshares from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th.

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.