Short Interest in Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) Declines By 65.7%

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 30,300 shares, a drop of 65.7% from the April 15th total of 88,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 16,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of UNTY stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, hitting $27.94. The company had a trading volume of 219 shares, compared to its average volume of 16,420. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average is $27.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $283.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 1.04. Unity Bancorp has a 52 week low of $21.00 and a 52 week high of $30.70.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 15.44%. The business had revenue of $25.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.15 million. As a group, analysts predict that Unity Bancorp will post 3.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This is a boost from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.65%.

Insider Activity at Unity Bancorp

In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 2,600 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.19, for a total transaction of $70,694.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,359.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 2,600 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.19, for a total transaction of $70,694.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,359.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Hughes sold 1,156 shares of Unity Bancorp 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 owns 137,735 shares in the company, valued at $3,757,410.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 28.88% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Unity Bancorp in the first quarter worth $884,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Unity Bancorp by 7.7% during 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 during the period. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its position in Unity Bancorp by 47.4% during the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 16,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after buying an additional 5,352 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 6.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 80.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. 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.