Unity Bancorp’s (UNTY) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued their outperform rating on shares of Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $55.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $51.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $54.00 price objective (up from $53.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Thursday.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

UNTY opened at $47.15 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.70 and its 200-day moving average is $37.86. The stock has a market cap of $471.03 million, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 1.03. Unity Bancorp has a twelve month low of $25.33 and a twelve month high of $48.44.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 24.46%. On average, analysts predict that Unity Bancorp will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP David G. Bove sold 4,167 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total value of $194,932.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,837 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter E. Maricondo sold 2,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.74, for a total value of $125,272.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 39,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,768,214.28. The trade was a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,810 shares of company stock worth $499,642. 28.88% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 7.3% in the second 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 purchasing an additional 2,393 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 478,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,159,000 after acquiring an additional 5,449 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Unity Bancorp by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Princeton Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Unity Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $623,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

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.