United Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBCP) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

United Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UBCP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,800 shares, a growth of 23.8% from the December 31st total of 6,300 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 7,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BBR Partners LLC purchased a new stake in United Bancorp during the third quarter worth $131,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of United Bancorp by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 33,376 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 2,575 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its position in shares of United Bancorp by 52.9% in the 4th quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 42,055 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $547,000 after buying an additional 14,550 shares in the last quarter. Tallon Kerry Patrick purchased a new position in United Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $584,000. Finally, Commonwealth Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of United Bancorp by 1.1% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Financial Services LLC now owns 90,209 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 15.42% of the company’s stock.

United Bancorp Stock Down 2.0 %

NASDAQ UBCP traded down $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $12.51. 2,138 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,777. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 0.79. United Bancorp has a 1 year low of $11.40 and a 1 year high of $15.50. The stock has a market cap of $72.43 million, a P/E ratio of 9.07 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $13.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $12.79.

United Bancorp (NASDAQ:UBCP) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The financial services provider reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. United Bancorp had a net margin of 18.28% and a return on equity of 12.56%. The business had revenue of $11.16 million for the quarter.

United Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 10th were given a dividend of $0.18 per share. This is a boost from United Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.18. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 10th. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.76%. United Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

About United Bancorp

United Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Unified Bank that provides commercial and retail banking services in Ohio. The company provides range of banking and financial services, which includes accepting demand, savings, and time deposits. It also offers commercial, real estate and consumer loans.