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

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) saw a significant drop in short interest during 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. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 16,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Unity Bancorp Stock Up 0.3 %

UNTY traded up $0.09 on Friday, hitting $27.94. 219 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 16,420. Unity Bancorp has a twelve month low of $21.00 and a twelve month high of $30.70. The company has a market cap of $283.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.31 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $27.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.24.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $25.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.15 million. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.44% and a net margin of 24.92%. On average, equities analysts predict that Unity Bancorp will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com cut Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Unity Bancorp by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Unity Bancorp by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 42,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Unity Bancorp by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Unity Bancorp by 80.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Unity Bancorp by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 29,535 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 2,100 shares during the period. 42.31% of the stock is 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.