Which Is a Better Investment, First Bancorp or United Bankshares, Inc. Stock?

By AAII Staff
September 08, 2026
Large versus logo comparing two stocks in the same industry
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Sifting through countless of stocks in the Banks industry can be tedious, and sometimes two stocks are just too similar to judge which is the better investment. If you’re on the fence about investing in First BanCorp., United Bankshares or Inc. because you’re not sure how they measure up, it’s important to compare them on a few factors before making your decision.

Read on to learn how First BanCorp., United Bankshares and Inc. compare based on key financial metrics to determine which better meets your investment needs.

About First BanCorp., United Bankshares and Inc.

First BanCorp. operates as the bank holding company for FirstBank Puerto Rico that provides financial products and services to consumers and commercial customers. It operates through six segments: Mortgage Banking; Consumer (Retail) Banking; Commercial and Corporate Banking; Treasury and Investments; United States Operations; and Virgin Islands Operations. The Mortgage Banking segment engages in the origination, sale, and servicing of various residential mortgage loans; hedging activities; purchase of mortgage loans from branch and mortgage bankers; and origination of residential real estate loans. The Consumer (Retail) Banking segment is involved in consumer lending, commercial lending to small businesses, commercial transaction banking, and deposit-taking activities. The Commercial and Corporate Banking segment offers lending and other services, including commercial lending and commercial deposit-taking activities. The Treasury and Investments segment manages funding; and obtains funds through brokered deposits, advances from the FHLB, and repurchase agreements involving investment securities, among other funding sources. The United States Operations segment provides checking, savings, and money market accounts; retail CDs; internet banking services; residential mortgages; home equity loans and lines of credit; retail deposits; cash management services; remote data capture; automated clearing house transactions; and traditional commercial and industrial, and commercial real estate products, such as lines of credit, term loans, and construction loans. The Virgin Islands Operations segment focuses on consumer and commercial lending, and deposit-taking activities. The company also offers automobile financing and insurance agency services. First BanCorp. was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

United Bankshares, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides commercial and retail banking products and services in the United States. The company accepts checking, savings, and time and money market accounts; individual retirement accounts; and demand deposits, statement and special savings, and NOW accounts. Its loan products include commercial loans and leases to small to mid-size industrial and commercial companies, as well as automobile dealers, service, retail and wholesale merchants; construction and real estate loans, such as commercial and residential mortgages, and loans secured by owner-occupied real estate; personal, automobiles, boats, recreational vehicles, credit card receivables, commercial, and floor plan loans; and home equity loans. In addition, the company provides credit cards; trust, safe deposit boxes, wire transfers, and other banking products and services; investment and security services; buying and selling federal fund services; automated teller machine services; and internet and automated telephone banking services. Further, it offers community banking services, such as asset management, real property title insurance, financial planning, mortgage banking, and brokerage services, as well as custody of assets, investment management, escrow services, and related fiduciary activities. The company was incorporated in 1982 and is headquartered in Charleston, West Virginia.

Latest Banks and First BanCorp., United Bankshares, Inc. Stock News

As of September 4, 2026, First BanCorp. had a $4.3 billion market capitalization, compared to the Banks median of $767.9 million. First BanCorp.’s stock is NA in 2026, NA in the previous five trading days and up 27.68% in the past year.

Currently, First BanCorp.’s price-earnings ratio is 12.0. First BanCorp.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $954.2 million with a 39.0% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 9.4%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $2.397 per share for the current fiscal year. First BanCorp. currently has a 2.8% dividend yield.

Currently, United Bankshares, Inc.’s price-earnings ratio is 13.1. United Bankshares, Inc.’s trailing 12-month revenue is $1.3 billion with a 41.2% net profit margin. Year-over-year quarterly sales growth most recently was 6.3%. Analysts expect adjusted earnings to reach $3.683 per share for the current fiscal year. United Bankshares, Inc. currently has a 3.2% dividend yield.

How We Compare First BanCorp., United Bankshares and Inc. Stock Grades

Stock evaluation requires access to huge amounts of data and the knowledge and time to sift through it all, make sense of financial ratios, read income statements and analyze recent stock movements. AAII created A+ Investor, a robust data suite that condenses data research in an actionable and customizable way suitable for investors of all knowledge levels, to help investors streamline and work through such data.

AAII’s proprietary stock grades come with A+ Investor. These offer intuitive A‐F grades for each of five key investing factors: value, growth, momentum, earnings estimate revisions and quality. Here, we’ll take a closer look at First BanCorp., United Bankshares and Inc.’s stock grades to see how they measure up against one another.

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First BanCorp., United Bankshares and Inc. Stock Value Grades

Company Ticker Value
First BanCorp. FBP B
United Bankshares, Inc. UBSI B

Successful stock investing involves buying low and selling high, so stock valuation is an important consideration for stock selection.

Buying stocks that are going to go up typically means buying stocks that are undervalued in the first place, although momentum investors may argue that point.

AAII’s A+ Investor Value Grade derives from a stock’s value score. The Value Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of the price-to-sales ratio, price-earnings ratio, enterprise-value-to-EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) ratio, shareholder yield, price-to-book-value ratio and price-to-free-cash-flow ratio. The score is variable, meaning it can consider all six ratios or, should any of the six ratios not be valid, the remaining ratios that are valid. To be assigned a Value Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) ratio and corresponding ranking for at least two of the six valuation ratios.

Stocks with a Value Score from 81 to 100 are considered deep value, those with a score between 61 and 80 are a good value and so on.

First BanCorp. has a Value Score of 66, which is Value. United Bankshares, Inc. has a Value Score of 64, which is Value.

The Value Stock Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Value Grade breakdown above, both First BanCorp., United Bankshares and Inc. have a Value Grade of B. For investors who focus solely on a company’s valuation, you will need to conduct further research into both of these companies’ other metrics to see if they could be good additions to your portfolio. It’s important for investors to analyze multiple factors based on a wide range of metrics before deciding whether to buy.

First BanCorp., United Bankshares and Inc.’s Quality Grades

Company Ticker Quality
First BanCorp. FBP D
United Bankshares, Inc. UBSI D

Like the Value Grade, AAII’s A+ Investor Quality Grade comes from the percentile rank of key metrics. Specifically, the Quality Score is the percentile rank of the average of the percentile ranks of return on assets (ROA), return on invested capital (ROIC), gross profit relative to assets, buyback yield, change in total liabilities to assets, accruals, Z double prime bankruptcy risk (Z) score and the F-Score.

The score is variable, meaning it can consider all eight measures or, should any of the eight measures not be valid, the remaining measures that are valid. To be assigned a Quality Score, stocks must have a valid (non-null) measure and corresponding ranking for at least four of the eight quality measures.

The Quality Score is used to assess the underlying “quality” of a particular stock. A higher-quality stock possesses traits associated with upside potential and reduced downside risk. Backtesting of the Quality Grade shows that stocks with higher grades, on average, outperformed stocks with lower grades over the period of 1998 through 2019.

Stocks receive better grades (higher scores) for having higher scores for the quality subcomponents and worse grades (lower scores) for lower scores for the subcomponents.

First BanCorp. has a Quality Score of 37, which is Weak. United Bankshares, Inc. has a Quality Score of 32, which is Weak.

The Quality Stock Winner: No Clear Winner

Neither First BanCorp., United Bankshares or Inc. has a high enough Quality Grade to be considered a “winner.” Investors who are considering these companies should do additional due diligence and research to see if either could be a good addition to their portfolios. It’s important to look at a wide range of financial metrics in order to determine if First BanCorp., United Bankshares or Inc. is the better investment when it comes to quality.

First BanCorp., United Bankshares and Inc.’s Momentum Grades

Company Ticker Momentum
First BanCorp. FBP B
United Bankshares, Inc. UBSI B

Momentum grades help to uncover stocks experiencing anomalously high rates of return; research finds that stocks with high relative levels of momentum tend to outperform, whereas those with low levels of momentum tend to continue underperforming. Momentum is based on the price change of a stock over a specified period relative to all other stocks.

Typically, AAII looks at the weighted relative strength over the trailing four quarters. The weighted four-quarter relative strength rank is the relative price change for each of the past four quarters. The most recent quarterly price change is given a weight of 40% and each of the three previous quarters are given a weighting of 20%.

First BanCorp. has a Momentum Score of 69, which is Strong. United Bankshares, Inc. has a Momentum Score of 61, which is Strong.

The Momentum Grade Winner: It’s a Tie!

Looking at the Momentum Grade breakdown above, both First BanCorp., United Bankshares and Inc. have a grade of B. For those who focus solely on a company’s momentum, further research will need to be conducted into both companies to see if they fit your individual needs as an investor.

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Other First BanCorp., United Bankshares and Inc. Grades

In addition to Value, Momentum and Quality, A+ Investor also provides grades for Growth and Estimate Revisions.

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Earnings estimate revisions scores take into account the magnitude of a company’s earnings surprise in its last two reported fiscal quarters. Often, surprises beget further surprises‐or at least continued sales growth (the exact opposite is generally true, too).

Growth investing builds on the idea that stocks of companies exhibiting strong, consistent and prolonged growth outperform those of slower-growth companies. AAII measures growth through consistency of annual sales growth, five-year sales growth rankings adjusted for extreme levels, and consistency of positive annual cash from operations.

These 2 key factors, when combined with the above, provide a holistic view into a particular stock. Further, by joining A+ Investor you can see whether First BanCorp., United Bankshares and Inc. pass any of our 60+ stock screens that have outperformed the market since their creation.

So, Which Is the Better Investment, First BanCorp., United Bankshares or Inc. Stock?

Overall, First BanCorp. stock has a Value Score of 66, Momentum Score of 69 and Quality Score of 37.

United Bankshares, Inc. stock has a Value Score of 64, Momentum Score of 61 and Quality Score of 32.

Comparing First BanCorp., United Bankshares and Inc.’s grades, scores and metrics can act as a solid basis to determine whether they may be a good investment or not. You’ll also want to look at your portfolio’s asset allocation as well as your risk tolerance and financial goals to see if either of these stocks would make a good fit for you. AAII can help you figure out which investments align with your individual needs and preferences.

Investors are encouraged to do their own due diligence and research. In this way, individuals can effectively become managers of their own assets‐without having to rely on others for financial independence. You can count on AAII for timeless articles on financial planning and stock-picking, unbiased research and actionable analysis.

A+ Investor adds to our qualitative teaching with a powerful data suite to help you whittle down investment choices to find stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds that meet your needs.

Learn More About A+ Investor

AAII Disclaimer

We make no representations or warranties that any investor will, or is likely to, achieve profits similar to those shown, because past, hypothetical or simulated performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Before making an investment decision, you should consider your circumstances and whether the information on our content is applicable to your situation. This information was prepared in good faith, and we accept no liability for any errors or omissions. The full disclaimer can be read here.



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