Short Interest in Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) Drops By 48.9%

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,800 shares, a decline of 48.9% from the February 29th total of 13,300 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 3,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Bankshares

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC grew its stake in Union Bankshares by 48.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 45,659 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 14,861 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Union Bankshares in the fourth quarter worth about $241,000. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new position in Union Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at about $183,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Union Bankshares by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 144,433 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,101,000 after purchasing an additional 5,449 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Union Bankshares by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 27,710 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 4,461 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.84% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Union Bankshares in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Union Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UNB opened at $30.47 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. Union Bankshares has a 52 week low of $20.07 and a 52 week high of $32.00. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $28.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.42 million, a P/E ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 0.86.

Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 17th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter. Union Bankshares had a return on equity of 19.89% and a net margin of 18.38%.

Union Bankshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 27th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 25th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.60%.

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.