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

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 61,600 shares, an increase of 20.5% from the January 15th total of 51,100 shares. Approximately 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 39,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.6 days.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Mark S. Brody sold 2,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.33, for a total transaction of $132,524.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 70,002 shares in the company, valued at $3,313,194.66. The trade was a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David G. Bove sold 4,167 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total value of $194,932.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at $460,174.86. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 17,558 shares of company stock worth $833,398. Insiders own 28.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNTY. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Unity Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $67,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Unity Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $135,000. Finally, Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $148,000. 42.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $54.00 price objective (up from $53.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up from $51.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unity Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Unity Bancorp Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Unity Bancorp stock traded down $0.50 on Wednesday, hitting $48.28. 18,259 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 41,546. The company has a market capitalization of $482.32 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 1.03. Unity Bancorp has a one year low of $25.60 and a one year high of $51.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $45.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.46. 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 (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 15.08%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Unity Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Unity Bancorp's payout ratio is 12.81%.

Unity Bancorp Company Profile

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.