Unity Bancorp, Inc. (UNTY) – What Are Researchers Saying About This Stock?

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $65.50.

A number of research firms have recently commented on UNTY. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $68.00 price objective on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Unity Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, October 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Peter E. Maricondo sold 470 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.25, for a total transaction of $26,437.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 49,943 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,809,293.75. This represents a 0.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President George Boyan sold 6,504 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.16, for a total transaction of $384,776.64. Following the sale, the president directly owned 25,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,479,887.40. This trade represents a 20.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,819 shares of company stock valued at $461,162. 28.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in UNTY. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,299,000. Royce & Associates LP raised its stake in Unity Bancorp by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 136,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,403,000 after buying an additional 9,776 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in Unity Bancorp by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,584,000 after buying an additional 4,308 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Unity Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $2,410,000. Finally, Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 0.5% in the third quarter. Rosenthal Henry Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 42,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,288,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of UNTY stock opened at $58.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $587.58 million, a PE ratio of 10.19 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Unity Bancorp has a one year low of $46.47 and a one year high of $62.50.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $36.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.63 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 31.00% and a return on equity of 16.00%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp will post 5.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. This is an increase from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.26%.

About Unity Bancorp

Unity Bancorp, Inc. is the bank holding company for Unity Bank, a community bank headquartered in Clinton, New Jersey. Founded in 1991, the company serves customers in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania, including the Lehigh Valley. Unity Bank offers personal and business banking services, including checking and savings accounts, digital banking, and lending. Its financing products include residential mortgages and consumer loans, as well as commercial loans for businesses and real estate.