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

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 26,200 shares, an increase of 22.4% from the June 15th total of 21,400 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 13,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unity Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 8th.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ UNTY traded up $1.02 on Friday, reaching $30.17. 46,465 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 18,641. The firm has a market cap of $302.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.96 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.56. Unity Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.50 and a fifty-two week high of $31.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $25.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.81 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 15.23%. Equities research analysts predict that Unity Bancorp will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.72%.

Insider Activity at Unity Bancorp

In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 2,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.19, for a total value of $70,694.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,043 shares in the company, valued at $28,359.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 28.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 75.2% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 16,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 7,104 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 46.9% in the first quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 414,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $11,427,000 after buying an additional 3,170 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new position in Unity Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $884,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 7.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $815,000 after buying an additional 2,100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.