Earnings Update: United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) Just Reported Its Full-Year Results And Analysts Are Updating Their Forecasts
It's shaping up to be a tough period for United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI), which a week ago released some disappointing full-year results that could have a notable impact on how the market views the stock. United Bankshares missed analyst forecasts, with revenues of US$1.0b and statutory earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.71, falling short by 2.8% and 2.5% respectively. Following the result, the analysts have updated their earnings model, and it would be good to know whether they think there's been a strong change in the company's prospects, or if it's business as usual. Readers will be glad to know we've aggregated the latest statutory forecasts to see whether the analysts have changed their mind on United Bankshares after the latest results.
View our latest analysis for United Bankshares
After the latest results, the six analysts covering United Bankshares are now predicting revenues of US$1.06b in 2024. If met, this would reflect an okay 3.0% improvement in revenue compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to shrink 3.0% to US$2.64 in the same period. In the lead-up to this report, the analysts had been modelling revenues of US$1.05b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$2.59 in 2024. The consensus analysts don't seem to have seen anything in these results that would have changed their view on the business, given there's been no major change to their estimates.
There were no changes to revenue or earnings estimates or the price target of US$37.33, suggesting that the company has met expectations in its recent result. It could also be instructive to look at the range of analyst estimates, to evaluate how different the outlier opinions are from the mean. The most optimistic United Bankshares analyst has a price target of US$41.00 per share, while the most pessimistic values it at US$30.00. Still, with such a tight range of estimates, it suggeststhe analysts have a pretty good idea of what they think the company is worth.
Looking at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can make sense of these forecasts is to see how they measure up against both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that United Bankshares' revenue growth is expected to slow, with the forecast 3.0% annualised growth rate until the end of 2024 being well below the historical 9.6% p.a. growth over the last five years. By way of comparison, the other companies in this industry with analyst coverage are forecast to grow their revenue at 5.7% per year. So it's pretty clear that, while revenue growth is expected to slow down, the wider industry is also expected to grow faster than United Bankshares.
The Bottom Line
The most obvious conclusion is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with the analysts holding their earnings forecasts steady, in line with previous estimates. Fortunately, the analysts also reconfirmed their revenue estimates, suggesting that it's tracking in line with expectations. Although our data does suggest that United Bankshares' revenue is expected to perform worse than the wider industry. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.
Following on from that line of thought, we think that the long-term prospects of the business are much more relevant than next year's earnings. We have estimates - from multiple United Bankshares analysts - going out to 2025, and you can see them free on our platform here.
You can also see whether United Bankshares is carrying too much debt, and whether its balance sheet is healthy, for free on our platform here.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
