Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $50.39 and last traded at $50.23, with a volume of 7867 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.92.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on UNTY shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $51.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $54.00 price target (up from $53.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

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 company has a market cap of $494.60 million, a P/E ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $39.69.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 15.08%. On average, research analysts predict that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. Unity Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 12.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unity Bancorp news, SVP David G. Bove sold 4,167 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total value of $194,932.26. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP James Joseph Donovan sold 1,080 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.88, for a total transaction of $52,790.40. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,975 shares in the company, valued at approximately $243,178. The trade was a 17.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,558 shares of company stock valued at $833,398. Insiders own 28.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,198,000 after buying an additional 492 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,227,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Unity Bancorp by 79.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 88,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,005,000 after acquiring an additional 39,033 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Unity Bancorp by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 40,102 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 10,167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 34,932 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,523,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. 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.