Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC) & Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Financial Analysis

Camden National (NASDAQ:CAC) and Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, earnings, profitability, dividends, valuation and institutional ownership.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Camden National and Unity Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Camden National	0	5	0	0	2.00
Unity Bancorp	0	0	3	0	3.00

Camden National currently has a consensus target price of $49.00, suggesting a potential downside of 1.33%. Unity Bancorp has a consensus target price of $65.00, suggesting a potential upside of 19.44%. Given Unity Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Unity Bancorp is more favorable than Camden National.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Camden National and Unity Bancorp”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Camden National	$373.18 million	2.25	$65.16 million	$3.84	12.93
Unity Bancorp	$188.41 million	2.90	$57.95 million	$5.67	9.60

Camden National has higher revenue and earnings than Unity Bancorp. Unity Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Camden National, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Camden National and Unity Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Camden National	17.46%	11.39%	1.07%
Unity Bancorp	30.76%	16.19%	1.81%

Risk and Volatility

Camden National has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Unity Bancorp has a beta of 0.66, indicating that its stock price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

77.4% of Camden National shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 42.3% of Unity Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.7% of Camden National shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 29.7% of Unity Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Camden National pays an annual dividend of $1.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Unity Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Camden National pays out 43.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Unity Bancorp pays out 10.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Unity Bancorp has raised its dividend for 12 consecutive years.

Summary

Unity Bancorp beats Camden National on 11 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Camden National

Camden National Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Camden National Bank that provides various commercial and consumer banking products and services for consumer, institutional, municipal, non-profit, and commercial customers in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. The company accepts checking, savings, time, and brokered deposits, as well as deposits with the certificate of deposit account registry system. Its loan products include non-owner-occupied commercial estate loans, owner-occupied commercial real estate loans, unsecured fully-guaranteed commercial loans backed by the small business administration, loans secured by one-to four-family properties, and consumer and home equity loans. The company also provides brokerage and insurance services through its financial offerings consisting of college, retirement, estate planning, mutual funds, strategic asset management accounts, and variable and fixed annuities. Further, it offers a range of fiduciary and asset management, wealth management, investment management, financial planning, and trustee services. Camden National Corporation was founded in 1875 and is headquartered in Camden, Maine.

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. The company also provides small business administration loans; commercial loans; and residential mortgage and consumer loans, including residential real estate, home equity lines and loans, and residential construction lines, as well as personal loans. In addition, it offers credit and debit cards, wire transfer, safe deposit box, automated teller, and internet and mobile banking services; and automated clearing house origination and remote deposit capture services. Unity Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1991 and is headquartered in Clinton, New Jersey.