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

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 51,100 shares, an increase of 28.4% from the December 31st total of 39,800 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 35,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Mary E. Gross sold 3,300 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.04, for a total value of $158,532.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,479 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $887,731.16. The trade was a 15.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Mark S. Brody sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.33, for a total value of $132,524.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 70,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,313,194.66. This trade represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 14,110 shares of company stock valued at $658,174. 28.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNTY. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $67,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 84.6% in the third 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. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Unity Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $135,000. Princeton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on UNTY shares. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $54.00 target price (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Unity Bancorp Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:UNTY traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $48.35. 49,605 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 37,258. The stock has a market capitalization of $482.82 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.91 and a beta of 1.03. Unity Bancorp has a one year low of $25.33 and a one year high of $49.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $45.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 25.24%. Sell-side analysts expect that Unity Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Unity Bancorp Company Profile

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.