Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) Short Interest Update

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of 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 days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Unity Bancorp Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of UNTY traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $43.69. 28,860 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,995. Unity Bancorp has a 52 week low of $25.33 and a 52 week high of $48.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $43.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $36.24. 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 market cap of $436.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 1.03.

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

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Peter E. Maricondo sold 2,800 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.74, for a total value of $125,272.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,768,214.28. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,043 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 8,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,085. The trade was a 11.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 10,810 shares of company stock valued at $499,642. 28.88% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNTY. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 1.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 478,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,159,000 after acquiring an additional 5,449 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 boosted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.6% in 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 79.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 88,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,005,000 after buying an additional 39,033 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 7.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 35,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 2,393 shares in the last quarter. 42.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.