Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) Short Interest Up 183.3% in January

Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 35,700 shares, a growth of 183.3% from the December 31st total of 12,600 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 8,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.2 days.

Union Bankshares Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of Union Bankshares stock traded up $0.59 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $31.19. 3,880 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,099. Union Bankshares has a twelve month low of $21.00 and a twelve month high of $37.70. The company has a market cap of $140.98 million, a PE ratio of 16.08 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.18.

Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Union Bankshares had a return on equity of 13.09% and a net margin of 11.74%.

Union Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Saturday, January 25th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 24th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.62%. Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 74.23%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Union Bankshares from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Union Bankshares in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings 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 worth $664,000 after purchasing an additional 2,914 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Union Bankshares by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,503 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,050,000 after buying an additional 1,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management boosted its holdings in shares of Union Bankshares by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 74,413 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after buying an additional 9,784 shares during the period. 14.84% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.