Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) Short Interest Update

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of 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 shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 29,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNTY has been the topic of several research analyst reports. 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 raised their price objective on shares of Unity Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $44.00 target price (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Monday, October 14th.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:UNTY traded down $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.34. 35,688 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,988. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $43.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.24. Unity Bancorp has a 1-year low of $25.33 and a 1-year high of $48.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $432.79 million, a PE ratio of 11.14 and a beta of 1.03.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.40 million. Research analysts expect that Unity Bancorp will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Unity Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP David G. Bove sold 4,167 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total value of $194,932.26. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,837 shares in the company, valued at $460,174.86. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,810 shares of company stock valued at $499,642 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 28.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Unity Bancorp by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 35,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 2,393 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased 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 in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 2.4% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 488 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 478,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,449 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.31% of the company's stock.

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.