Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 61,600 shares, a growth of 20.5% from the January 15th total of 51,100 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 39,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.82, for a total transaction of $92,035.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,415.84. This trade represents a 17.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mark S. Brody sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.33, for a total transaction of $132,524.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 70,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,313,194.66. The trade was a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,558 shares of company stock worth $833,398 over the last three months. Insiders own 28.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNTY. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Unity Bancorp by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after buying an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Princeton Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $208,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $623,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. 42.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Unity Bancorp stock traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $48.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,789. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $482.42 million, a PE ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $40.08. Unity Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $25.60 and a fifty-two week high of $51.22.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 15.08%. On average, analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.81%.

About Unity Bancorp

Unity Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for Unity Bank that provides range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small and medium sized businesses, and professional communities. It offers personal and business checking accounts, time deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, and retirement accounts, as well as noninterest and interest-bearing demand deposits.