Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Now Covered by Brean Capital

Brean Capital started coverage on shares of Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) in a report released on Wednesday. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $61.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Unity Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Unity Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $63.67.

Unity Bancorp Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of Unity Bancorp stock opened at $52.44 on Wednesday. Unity Bancorp has a 1 year low of $41.00 and a 1 year high of $57.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a market capitalization of $525.45 million, a P/E ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s fifty day moving average is $52.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.66.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 31.33% and a return on equity of 16.36%. The company had revenue of $33.61 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.59 million. Analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp will post 5.76 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Unity Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 10.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO James A. Hughes sold 1,500 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $81,750.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 173,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,429,208.50. The trade was a 0.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert H. Dallas II sold 7,725 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.60, for a total transaction of $383,160.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 32,073 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,590,820.80. The trade was a 19.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 18,653 shares of company stock valued at $947,214 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 28.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $550,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC purchased a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $498,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 31.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 65,477 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,200,000 after buying an additional 15,628 shares in the last quarter. CenterBook Partners LP purchased a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $682,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP boosted its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 8.0% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 157,496 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,697,000 after buying an additional 11,676 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

About Unity Bancorp

Unity Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker UNTY. Through its primary subsidiary, Unity Bank, the company delivers a comprehensive suite of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, businesses and municipal clients in its regional markets.

Founded in 1906, Unity Bank maintains a network of conveniently located branches across Bucks County and adjacent areas of southeastern Pennsylvania. The company’s deposit portfolio includes checking and savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, while its loan offerings encompass commercial real estate, construction and land development, agricultural and consumer lending solutions.

Beyond traditional deposit and lending activities, Unity Bancorp provides cash management and merchant services, as well as internet and mobile banking platforms designed to streamline day-to-day financial operations.