Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Upgraded 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 note published on Friday morning.

Unity Bancorp Trading Down 0.1 %

UNTY stock opened at $25.91 on Friday. Unity Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.49 and a fifty-two week high of $30.70. The firm has a market cap of $260.14 million, a PE ratio of 6.80 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $27.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $25.56 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.15 million. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 24.92%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Unity Bancorp will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Unity Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 13.65%.

Insider Activity at Unity Bancorp

In related news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 2,600 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.19, for a total value of $70,694.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,043 shares in the company, valued at $28,359.17. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 28.88% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNTY. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Unity Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $117,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,150 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 80.3% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 6.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Unity Bancorp Company Profile

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.