Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) Short Interest Update

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,900 shares, a drop of 29.5% from the February 28th total of 32,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Union Bankshares Stock Performance

NASDAQ UNB opened at $31.72 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $30.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $143.53 million, a P/E ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 0.80. Union Bankshares has a fifty-two week low of $21.00 and a fifty-two week high of $37.70.

Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Union Bankshares had a net margin of 11.74% and a return on equity of 13.09%.

Union Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Union Bankshares’s payout ratio is presently 74.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded Union Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Bankshares by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,503 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management lifted its position in Union Bankshares by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 76,087 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,200,000 after buying an additional 1,674 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Union Bankshares by 24.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,225 shares of the bank’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Union Bankshares by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 4,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Union Bankshares during the fourth quarter valued at about $269,000. 14.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Union Bankshares Company Profile

Union Bankshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Union Bank that provides retail, commercial, and municipal banking products and services in northern Vermont and New Hampshire. It offers retail depository services, such as personal checking, savings, money market, IRA/SEP/KEOGH, and health savings accounts, as well as certificates of deposit.