Short Interest in Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) Increases By 28.4%

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 51,100 shares, a growth of 28.4% from the December 31st total of 39,800 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 35,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Unity Bancorp Stock Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:UNTY traded up $0.91 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $49.92. The stock had a trading volume of 73,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 45,817. The company has a market cap of $498.50 million, a PE ratio of 12.30 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.43. Unity Bancorp has a 1-year low of $25.33 and a 1-year high of $50.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share 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%. Analysts predict that Unity Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.04%. Unity Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Unity Bancorp

In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Mark S. Brody sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.33, for a total value of $132,524.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 70,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,313,194.66. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,043 shares of the business'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 sale, the director now owns 8,250 shares in the company, valued at $371,085. The trade was a 11.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,790 shares of company stock worth $788,277 over the last 90 days. 28.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 79.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 88,231 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,005,000 after acquiring an additional 39,033 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in Unity Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $845,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $623,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Unity Bancorp by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,102 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,749,000 after buying an additional 10,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 93.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 6,846 shares during the last quarter. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.