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 the month of 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 trading volume of 25,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on UNTY. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 price target (up from $40.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Monday, October 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UNTY traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $45.40. 8,747 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,764. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.51. The company has a market cap of $453.55 million, a PE ratio of 11.74 and a beta of 0.99. Unity Bancorp has a 1-year low of $25.33 and a 1-year high of $48.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

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

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.37%.

Insider Activity at Unity Bancorp

In other news, Director Mark S. Brody sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.33, for a total transaction of $132,524.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 70,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,313,194.66. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,043 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.98, for a total transaction of $46,914.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,250 shares in the company, valued at $371,085. This trade represents a 11.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 28.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 414,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,427,000 after purchasing an additional 3,170 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Unity Bancorp by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 35,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 2,393 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in Unity Bancorp by 2,329.8% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 2.4% in the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $617,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in Unity Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $202,000. Institutional investors own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

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.