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

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 35,700 shares, a growth of 183.3% from the December 31st total of 12,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Union Bankshares Trading Up 3.2 %

Union Bankshares stock traded up $1.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $32.21. 2,789 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,671. 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 50 day simple moving average is $31.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.22. The company has a market capitalization of $145.57 million, a P/E ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 0.80. Union Bankshares has a 52-week low of $21.00 and a 52-week high of $37.70.

Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The bank reported $0.67 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.23%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Union Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st.

Institutional Trading of Union Bankshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Union Bankshares by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 30,924 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 2,914 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Union Bankshares by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 14,032 shares of the bank’s stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management increased its stake in Union Bankshares by 15.1% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 74,413 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 9,784 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Union Bankshares in the third quarter valued at about $220,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,188 shares during the period. 14.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.