Unity Bancorp’s (UNTY) “Overweight” Rating Reiterated at Piper Sandler

Piper Sandler reissued their overweight rating on shares of Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) in a research report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $54.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $53.00.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Unity Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

UNTY opened at $47.15 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $44.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $471.03 million, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 1.03. Unity Bancorp has a 52 week low of $25.33 and a 52 week high of $48.44.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 24.46%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Unity Bancorp will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.37%.

Insider Activity at Unity Bancorp

In other Unity Bancorp news, SVP David G. Bove sold 4,167 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total value of $194,932.26. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,174.86. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark S. Brody sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.33, for a total value of $132,524.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 70,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,313,194.66. This trade represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 10,810 shares of company stock worth $499,642. 28.88% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of UNTY. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Unity Bancorp by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,198,000 after acquiring an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 84.6% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Unity Bancorp by 5.1% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 1,608 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Unity Bancorp by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 35,083 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after buying an additional 2,393 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

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.