Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Friday.

Union Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UNB opened at $29.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $131.23 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Union Bankshares has a 1-year low of $21.00 and a 1-year high of $37.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $30.49 and its 200 day moving average is $29.42.

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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.97%. Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 74.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Bankshares

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Union Bankshares by 24.0% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,225 shares of the bank’s stock worth $122,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Union Bankshares by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 35,276 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,020,000 after purchasing an additional 1,474 shares during the period. Cardinal Capital Management increased its stake in Union Bankshares by 2.2% in 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. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Union Bankshares by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the bank’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares during the period. 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.