Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

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

Institutional Trading of Union Bankshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Union Bankshares by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,503 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management grew its stake in shares of Union Bankshares by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 76,087 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,200,000 after purchasing an additional 1,674 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Union Bankshares by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $541,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Union Bankshares by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,276 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares during the period. Finally, Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in Union Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth $269,000. 14.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Union Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ UNB opened at $31.72 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $143.53 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $30.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.00. Union Bankshares has a 1 year low of $21.00 and a 1 year high of $37.70.

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

Union Bankshares Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.