Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report released on Friday morning.

Union Bankshares Price Performance

UNB stock opened at $34.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Union Bankshares has a one year low of $21.00 and a one year high of $37.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.49 million, a PE ratio of 17.73 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.13 and a two-hundred day moving average of $28.81.

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

Union Bankshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, January 25th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 24th. Union Bankshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.23%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Union Bankshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNB. Cardinal Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of Union Bankshares by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 74,413 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,930,000 after acquiring an additional 9,784 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Bankshares during the 4th quarter valued at $269,000. Community Financial Services Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Union Bankshares during the 3rd quarter valued at $220,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Union Bankshares by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 30,880 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $893,000 after acquiring an additional 4,436 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Union Bankshares by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 18,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $541,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176 shares in the last quarter. 14.84% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.