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

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 39,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $422,415.84. This represents a 17.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David G. Bove sold 4,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 17,558 shares of company stock worth $833,398. Corporate insiders own 28.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNTY. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $67,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 84.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $135,000. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury bought a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $154,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 25.8% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 4,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $181,000 after buying an additional 852 shares during the last quarter. 42.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Unity Bancorp Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:UNTY opened at $48.29 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $482.42 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.03. Unity Bancorp has a 12 month low of $25.60 and a 12 month high of $51.22. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $45.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.22.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Unity Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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