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

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 99,200 shares, a growth of 122.9% from the February 29th total of 44,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 18,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.4 days. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd.

Unity Bancorp Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ UNTY opened at $27.85 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $27.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.52. Unity Bancorp has a twelve month low of $20.01 and a twelve month high of $30.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a market capitalization of $282.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.25 and a beta of 1.06.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $26.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.90 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 26.19% and a return on equity of 15.91%. Research analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp will post 3.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.87%. This is a positive change from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.54%.

Insider Activity at Unity Bancorp

In related news, CEO James A. Hughes sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.28, for a total value of $31,535.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,757,410.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Unity Bancorp news, CEO James A. Hughes sold 1,156 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.28, for a total value of $31,535.68. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,735 shares in the company, valued at $3,757,410.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Mary E. Gross sold 1,344 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.00, for a total transaction of $40,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $515,280. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,334 shares of company stock valued at $157,046. 28.88% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of UNTY. Fourthstone LLC grew its position in Unity Bancorp by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 481,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,468,000 after acquiring an additional 149,358 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Unity Bancorp by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 464,906 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,757,000 after buying an additional 13,978 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 15.1% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 442,999 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,450,000 after acquiring an additional 58,249 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 410,866 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,158,000 after purchasing an additional 3,155 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 300,074 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,079,000 after purchasing an additional 4,410 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.