110,068 Shares in United Bankshares, Inc. $UBSI Bought by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new position in shares of United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 110,068 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,044,000. Van ECK Associates Corp owned about 0.08% of United Bankshares at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of UBSI. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of United Bankshares by 2.0% in the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 12,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of United Bankshares by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,492 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of United Bankshares by 64.4% in the 1st quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 786 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its holdings in United Bankshares by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 398 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in United Bankshares by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,336 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. 70.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

United Bankshares Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of United Bankshares stock opened at $47.30 on Thursday. United Bankshares, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.10 and a 1 year high of $49.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $47.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.43. The company has a market cap of $6.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10.

United Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSI) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.06. United Bankshares had a net margin of 27.97% and a return on equity of 9.39%. The firm had revenue of $323.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $320.07 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.85 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that United Bankshares, Inc. will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

United Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. United Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 41.42%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on UBSI shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of United Bankshares in a report on Monday, July 6th. Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of United Bankshares from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of United Bankshares from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of United Bankshares from $46.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of United Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, United Bankshares has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.80.

Insider Activity

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

United Bankshares Profile

United Bankshares, Inc, headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia, is a bank holding company that provides a full range of financial services through its primary subsidiary, United Bank. The company’s core offerings include retail and commercial banking products such as checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and business loans, mortgages, and treasury management services. In addition, United Bankshares delivers private banking, wealth management, trust and fiduciary solutions, and investment advisory services to meet the needs of individual, corporate, and institutional clients.

United Bankshares operates an extensive branch network across West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.