After beating estimates last quarter by $0.01, United Bankshares (Nasdaq: UBSI) has set the standard for itself. The company will unveil its latest earnings on Monday, July 25. United Bankshares is a bank holding company that, through its subsidiaries, offers a range of commercial and retail banking services and products.

What analysts say:

  • Buy, sell, or hold?: Analysts think investors should stand pat on United Bankshares, with analysts unanimously rating it a hold. Analysts don't like United Bankshares as much as competitor Cardinal overall. Four out of eight analysts rate Cardinal a buy, compared with zero of nine for United Bankshares. Analysts' rating of United Bankshares has stayed constant from three months prior.
  • Revenue forecasts: On average, analysts predict $77.6 million in revenue this quarter. That would represent a decline of 2.1% from the year-ago quarter.
  • Wall Street earnings expectations: The average analyst estimate is earnings of $0.40 per share. Estimates range from $0.39 to $0.41.

What our community says:
The majority of CAPS All-Stars see UBSI as a good bet, with 72.7% granting it an "outperform" rating. The majority of Fools are in agreement with the All-Stars, as 69.1% give it an "outperform" rating. Although Fools are gung-ho about United Bankshares, the message boards have been quiet lately, with only 26 posts in the past 30 days. Despite the majority sentiment in favor of United Bankshares, the stock has a mediocre CAPS rating of three out of five stars.

Management:
United Bankshares' profit has risen year over year by an average of 44.1%.

Now let's look at how efficient management is at running the business. Traditionally, margins represent the efficiency with which companies capture portions of sales dollars. The following table shows net margins over the past four quarters. 

Quarter Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2
Net Margin 20.2% 19.2% 18.1% 18%
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