Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB) Upgraded to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Union Bankshares (NASDAQ: UNB) was upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, signaling a potential shift in investor sentiment.
• The bank reported earnings of $0.53 per share for the last quarter, with a revenue of $13.2 million, reflecting a return on equity of 13.14%.
• Institutional investors are actively trading in Union Bankshares, with Bank of America Corp DE increasing its stake by 24% during the fourth quarter.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB - Free Report) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Sunday morning.

Union Bankshares Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UNB traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $25.94. 4,324 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,633. The company's 50 day moving average price is $27.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $29.67. The firm has a market cap of $118.05 million, a PE ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.82 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Union Bankshares has a 52 week low of $24.11 and a 52 week high of $37.70.

Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UNB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $13.20 million during the quarter. Union Bankshares had a return on equity of 13.14% and a net margin of 11.17%.

Union Bankshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 7th. Investors of record on Saturday, July 26th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.6%. Union Bankshares's payout ratio is 70.59%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Union Bankshares by 34,520.0% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,731 shares of the bank's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 1,726 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in Union Bankshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $53,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in Union Bankshares during the 2nd quarter valued at $104,000. Bank of America Corp DE raised its holdings in Union Bankshares by 24.0% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,225 shares of the bank's stock valued at $122,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Union Bankshares during the 1st quarter valued at $214,000. 14.84% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.