Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) Stock Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.30 and traded as high as $33.00. Union Bankshares shares last traded at $31.50, with a volume of 12,840 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Union Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th.

Union Bankshares Price Performance

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 has a market capitalization of $142.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15 and a beta of 0.78. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.70.

Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter. Union Bankshares had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 11.74%.

Union Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 7th. Investors of record on Saturday, October 26th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.57%. Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.85%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Bankshares

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNB. Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new position in Union Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $220,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Union Bankshares by 7.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position 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 buying an additional 2,914 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Union Bankshares by 3.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,503 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management grew its position in Union Bankshares by 15.1% during the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 74,413 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,930,000 after buying an additional 9,784 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.84% of the company’s stock.

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.