United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) was in 6 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. UBSI investors should pay attention to an increase in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late. There were 4 hedge funds in our database with UBSI positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of indicators market participants can use to watch publicly traded companies. Two of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading sentiment. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite investment managers can outpace the broader indices by a significant margin (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, positive insider trading activity is a second way to parse down the marketplace. There are a number of stimuli for a corporate insider to drop shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would behave bullishly. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if shareholders understand what to do (learn more here).
Consequently, we’re going to take a glance at the latest action encompassing United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI).
How are hedge funds trading United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 50% from the first quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their holdings meaningfully.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, holds the biggest position in United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI). Royce & Associates has a $6.7 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Coming in second is Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, with a $3.1 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining peers that hold long positions include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.
As industrywide interest jumped, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Royce & Associates, managed by Chuck Royce, established the most valuable position in United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI). Royce & Associates had 6.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors also made a $0.4 million investment in the stock during the quarter. The only other fund with a new position in the stock is D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI)?
Insider buying is particularly usable when the company in question has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest 180-day time frame, United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI) has experienced 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s go over hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to United Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBSI). These stocks are BankUnited (NYSE:BKU), WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC), Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV), SCBT Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:SCBT), and First Citizens BancShares Inc. (NASDAQ:FCNCA). All of these stocks are in the regional – mid-atlantic banks industry and their market caps resemble UBSI’s market cap.
