Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 36,800 shares, an increase of 18.7% from the November 30th total of 31,000 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 29,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective 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. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $44.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Monday, October 14th.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ UNTY traded up $0.35 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $43.69. 28,860 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 20,995. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.88 and a 200 day moving average of $36.24. Unity Bancorp has a 1 year low of $25.33 and a 1 year high of $48.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The stock has a market capitalization 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 data on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. On average, analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Unity Bancorp

In other news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.98, for a total transaction of $46,914.14. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter E. Maricondo sold 2,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.74, for a total transaction of $125,272.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 39,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,768,214.28. This represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,810 shares of company stock worth $499,642 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 28.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 84.6% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $623,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $617,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 2,329.8% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. 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.