Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. Makes New $231,000 Investment in United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI)

Pekin Hardy Strauss Inc. acquired a new position in shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 6,666 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $231,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in United Bankshares by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 14,310,562 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $537,362,000 after purchasing an additional 115,681 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in United Bankshares by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 4,199,136 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $157,678,000 after acquiring an additional 29,898 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in United Bankshares by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,774,018 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $66,614,000 after acquiring an additional 213,441 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in United Bankshares by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,710,588 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,233,000 after acquiring an additional 37,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of United Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,712,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UBSI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on 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. Wall Street Zen cut United Bankshares from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $40.63.

United Bankshares Trading Down 1.7%

United Bankshares stock traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $37.58. The stock had a trading volume of 625,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 667,676. United Bankshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $30.51 and a twelve month high of $44.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.97 and a beta of 0.76. 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's 50-day simple moving average is $36.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.06.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.59 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.66 by ($0.07). United Bankshares had a net margin of 22.35% and a return on equity of 7.36%. The firm had revenue of $289.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $279.02 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.64 EPS. United Bankshares's revenue was up 13.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 2.81 EPS for the current year.

United Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. United Bankshares's dividend payout ratio is presently 55.02%.

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.