Short Interest in United Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBCP) Expands By 23.8%

United Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBCP) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,800 shares, an increase of 23.8% from the December 31st total of 6,300 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.0 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On United Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BBR Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of United Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $131,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of United Bancorp by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 33,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 2,575 shares in the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of United Bancorp by 52.9% during the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 42,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 14,550 shares during the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick bought a new stake in shares of United Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $584,000. Finally, Commonwealth Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in United Bancorp by 1.1% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 90,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,183,000 after buying an additional 988 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 15.42% of the company’s stock.

United Bancorp Trading Up 1.3 %

UBCP traded up $0.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $12.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,553 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,748. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $12.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. The company has a market cap of $74.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.40. United Bancorp has a 12-month low of $11.40 and a 12-month high of $15.50.

United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. United Bancorp had a net margin of 18.28% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The business had revenue of $11.16 million for the quarter.

United Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is an increase from United Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.56%. United Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

About United Bancorp

United Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Unified Bank that provides commercial and retail banking services in Ohio. The company provides range of banking and financial services, which includes accepting demand, savings, and time deposits. It also offers commercial, real estate and consumer loans.