Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Union Bankshares Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of UNB opened at $28.65 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $30.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.22. The company has a market capitalization of $129.64 million, a P/E ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.83 and a quick ratio of 0.82. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Saturday, January 25th were paid a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Union Bankshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $269,000. 683 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth approximately $304,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Bankshares by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the bank’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 4,436 shares in the last quarter. 14.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Union Bankshares

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.