Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) Short Interest Down 65.7% in April

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of April. As of April 30th, there was short interest totalling 30,300 shares, a decrease of 65.7% from the April 15th total of 88,300 shares. Approximately 0.4% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 16,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unity Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 2nd.

Unity Bancorp Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ UNTY traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $27.65. The stock had a trading volume of 5,054 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,362. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.21. Unity Bancorp has a 1 year low of $21.00 and a 1 year high of $30.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.27. The firm has a market cap of $280.37 million, a P/E ratio of 7.26 and a beta of 1.04.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 15.44%. The company had revenue of $25.56 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.15 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. This is an increase from Unity Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Unity Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 13.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 2,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.19, for a total transaction of $70,694.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,043 shares in the company, valued at $28,359.17. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO James A. Hughes sold 1,156 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were 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 $3,757,410.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 28.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,200 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 80.3% in 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 last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $117,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in Unity Bancorp by 47.4% in the 1st quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 16,649 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $460,000 after buying an additional 5,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Unity Bancorp by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,007 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during 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.