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

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 32,500 shares, an increase of 23.6% from the February 13th total of 26,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 8,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 819 shares during the period. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in Union Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $269,000. 683 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Union Bankshares in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $304,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Union Bankshares by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $541,000 after buying an additional 2,176 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 4,436 shares during the last quarter. 14.84% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Union Bankshares Price Performance

NASDAQ UNB opened at $29.91 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.65. 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 12-month low of $21.00 and a 12-month high of $37.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.34 million, a P/E ratio of 15.42 and a beta of 0.80.

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 net margin of 11.74% and a return on equity of 13.09%.

Union Bankshares Dividend Announcement

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

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.