Union Bankshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNB) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Bankshares

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNB. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Union Bankshares by 3.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 40,503 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,188 shares during the period. Community Financial Services Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Union Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at about $220,000. Cardinal Capital Management raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 9,784 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Union Bankshares by 7.7% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 14,032 shares of the bank’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,914 shares during the period. 14.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut shares of Union Bankshares from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday.

Union Bankshares Stock Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:UNB traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $29.40. The stock had a trading volume of 3,875 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,805. 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 company has a market capitalization of $133.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 0.80. Union Bankshares has a 1-year low of $21.00 and a 1-year high of $37.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.55.

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

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.