Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Upgraded at Freedom Capital

Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

UNTY has been the subject of a number of other reports. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Unity Bancorp from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Brean Capital began coverage on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $61.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have assigned a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Unity Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $65.50.

Unity Bancorp Stock Down 3.4%

Shares of UNTY stock opened at $57.25 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $574.79 million, a PE ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.62. Unity Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $44.34 and a fifty-two week high of $60.86.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $34.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.62 million. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.40% and a net margin of 30.26%. Equities analysts expect that Unity Bancorp will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 4th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unity Bancorp

In other news, Director Mark S. Brody sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.23, for a total transaction of $88,368.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 113,854 shares in the company, valued at $6,288,156.42. This trade represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 28.87% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 49,848 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 4,308 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 33.0% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,615 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $343,000 after buying an additional 1,643 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 78.4% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 15,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $814,000 after buying an additional 6,900 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Unity Bancorp by 17.3% during the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Unity Bancorp by 34.2% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,113 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 1,814 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.