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

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 32,500 shares, a growth of 23.6% from the February 13th total of 26,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 8,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Union Bankshares Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of UNB stock opened at $29.91 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.65. Union Bankshares has a 12-month low of $21.00 and a 12-month high of $37.70. The firm has a market cap of $135.34 million, a P/E ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Union Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Union Bankshares

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNB. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of Union Bankshares by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $122,000 after acquiring an additional 819 shares during the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in Union Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $269,000. 683 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $304,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew 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 worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Union Bankshares by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $893,000 after acquiring an additional 4,436 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 14.84% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised Union Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday.

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.