StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB)

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) in a report released on Saturday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the bank’s stock.

Union Bankshares Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ UNB opened at $27.70 on Friday. Union Bankshares has a one year low of $20.07 and a one year high of $32.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.81. The company has a market capitalization of $125.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.93.

Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) last posted its 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 19.09% and a net margin of 16.74%.

Union Bankshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, January 27th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 25th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.20%. Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Union Bankshares

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in Union Bankshares by 617.3% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,205 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in Union Bankshares by 244.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,465 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 2,459 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp purchased a new stake in Union Bankshares in the fourth quarter valued at about $183,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Union Bankshares by 8.5% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 7,763 shares of the bank’s stock worth $203,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Union Bankshares during the fourth quarter worth about $241,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.84% of the company’s stock.

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.