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

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,811 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 8,312 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $422,415.84. This represents a 17.89 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP David G. Bove sold 4,167 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total transaction of $194,932.26. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $460,174.86. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,558 shares of company stock valued at $833,398 in the last 90 days. 28.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of UNTY. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 647.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 100,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,396,000 after purchasing an additional 87,321 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $1,795,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 128,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,623,000 after acquiring an additional 40,710 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 53.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 97,975 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,273,000 after acquiring an additional 34,089 shares during the period. Finally, Delphi Management Inc. MA acquired a new position in Unity Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $1,256,000. 42.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Unity Bancorp Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Unity Bancorp stock traded up $0.26 on Friday, hitting $48.29. 16,254 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 45,789. The stock has a market cap of $482.42 million, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.77 and its 200 day moving average is $40.08. Unity Bancorp has a 52-week low of $25.60 and a 52-week high of $51.22.

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

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.