Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of UNTY opened at $27.32 on Monday. Unity Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.50 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $27.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $274.27 million, a PE ratio of 7.17 and a beta of 1.02.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 15.23%. The company had revenue of $25.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.15 million. Equities analysts predict that Unity Bancorp will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Unity Bancorp’s payout ratio is 13.65%.

Insider Activity at Unity Bancorp

In related news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 2,600 shares of the 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 owns 1,043 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,359.17. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 28.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 80.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $117,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 75.2% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 16,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 7,104 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 47.4% during the first 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 period. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.