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

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) was the target of a large increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 35,700 shares, an increase 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 shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Community Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new stake in Union Bankshares during the third quarter valued at about $220,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Union Bankshares by 7.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 14,032 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $301,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Union Bankshares by 10.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 30,924 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,914 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Union Bankshares by 3.0% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Union Bankshares by 15.1% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 74,413 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,930,000 after acquiring an additional 9,784 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.84% of the company’s stock.

Union Bankshares Price Performance

Shares of UNB traded up $1.00 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $32.21. 2,789 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,671. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.57 million, a PE ratio of 16.57 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.22. Union Bankshares has a fifty-two week low of $21.00 and a fifty-two week high of $37.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.36 dividend. 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 presently 74.23%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.