Short Interest in Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) Increases By 18.7%

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) was the target of a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 36,800 shares, a growth of 18.7% from the November 30th total of 31,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 29,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UNTY traded down $1.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $43.34. The stock had a trading volume of 35,688 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,988. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Unity Bancorp has a 12-month low of $25.33 and a 12-month high of $48.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $432.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $36.18.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $27.66 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.40 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 24.46% and a return on equity of 14.63%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Unity Bancorp will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. Unity Bancorp’s payout ratio is 13.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNTY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Monday, October 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Unity Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP David G. Bove sold 4,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total transaction of $194,932.26. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,174.86. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,043 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.98, for a total value of $46,914.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,085. This trade represents a 11.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,810 shares of company stock worth $499,642. Corporate insiders own 28.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNTY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 79.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 88,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,005,000 after buying an additional 39,033 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 93.1% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Unity Bancorp by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,198,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings 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 valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

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.