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

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 33,200 shares, a growth of 40.1% from the October 31st total of 23,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 25,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Transactions at Unity Bancorp

In related news, Director Mark S. Brody sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.33, for a total transaction of $132,524.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 70,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,313,194.66. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $46,914.14. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $371,085. This represents a 11.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 28.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of UNTY. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 2,329.8% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $202,000. Princeton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $208,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in Unity Bancorp by 93.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 6,846 shares in the last quarter. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of UNTY stock traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $45.40. The stock had a trading volume of 8,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 19,764. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Unity Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $25.33 and a fifty-two week high of $48.22. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $33.63. The firm has a market cap of $453.36 million, a PE ratio of 11.67 and a beta of 0.99.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last posted its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $27.66 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.40 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 24.46% and a return on equity of 14.63%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Unity Bancorp will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 price objective (up from $40.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

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.