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

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 22,900 shares, a drop of 29.5% from the February 28th total of 32,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 8,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Union Bankshares Price Performance

UNB opened at $31.72 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $143.53 million, a P/E ratio of 16.35 and a beta of 0.80. Union Bankshares has a 12 month low of $21.00 and a 12 month 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. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.97.

Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) last released 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 24th. Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 74.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Union Bankshares

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alpine Global Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth about $269,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Union Bankshares by 24.0% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. 683 Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Union Bankshares during the 4th quarter worth approximately $304,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Union Bankshares by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 4,436 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Union Bankshares by 4.4% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 14.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Union Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 18th.

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.