Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Stock Passes Below 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) shares crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $51.44 and traded as low as $49.53. Unity Bancorp shares last traded at $50.02, with a volume of 34,114 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UNTY. Wall Street Zen cut Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Unity Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Unity Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three 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 an average price target of $65.00.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $53.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $51.44. The company has a market cap of $501.20 million, a P/E ratio of 8.82 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $33.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.39 million. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.88% and a net margin of 30.76%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.16 dividend. This is a positive change from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 11.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unity Bancorp news, SVP Minsu Kim sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.13, for a total transaction of $42,097.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,398.83. This represents a 48.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP James Joseph Donovan sold 777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.07, for a total transaction of $43,566.39. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,865 shares of company stock worth $268,336. Company insiders own 29.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Unity Bancorp by 17.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 163,312 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,689,000 after purchasing an additional 24,528 shares during the period. Gator Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 40.2% in the second quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 33,256 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,566,000 after buying an additional 9,530 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $550,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Unity Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $279,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Unity Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $498,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

Unity Bancorp Company Profile

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.