Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

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

UNTY has been the subject of several other reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating and set a $44.00 target price (up from $40.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an outperform rating and set a $39.00 target price (up from $35.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 15th.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ UNTY opened at $37.72 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.99. The company has a market cap of $376.45 million, a P/E ratio of 9.95 and a beta of 1.01. Unity Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.50 and a 1 year high of $38.10.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $25.46 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.81 million. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.71% and a net margin of 24.37%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Unity Bancorp will post 3.8 EPS for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 13.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Minsu Kim sold 2,264 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.90, for a total transaction of $79,013.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $138,727.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP James Joseph Donovan sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.97, for a total value of $26,227.50. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,805.02. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Minsu Kim sold 2,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.90, for a total transaction of $79,013.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,975 shares in the company, valued at $138,727.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 28.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $884,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 75.2% during the 1st 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. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 478,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,159,000 after buying an additional 5,449 shares during the period. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 47.4% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 16,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $460,000 after purchasing an additional 5,352 shares during the last quarter. 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.