Short Interest in Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) Drops By 26.0%

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,700 shares, a decrease of 26.0% from the October 15th total of 7,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 6,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Union Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of UNB stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $30.86. 4,041 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,464. Union Bankshares has a fifty-two week low of $21.00 and a fifty-two week high of $32.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.49 million, a P/E ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $27.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The bank reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter. Union Bankshares had a return on equity of 13.53% and a net margin of 13.63%.

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 paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 25th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.67%. Union Bankshares’s payout ratio is 73.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Cardinal Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Union Bankshares by 15.1% in the third quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 74,413 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after purchasing an additional 9,784 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Union Bankshares by 10.4% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 30,924 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,914 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Union Bankshares by 7.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 14,032 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Financial Services Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Union Bankshares in the third quarter valued at $220,000. 14.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com lowered Union Bankshares from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th.

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.