Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) Receives Average Recommendation of "Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Buy” consensus on Unity Bancorp, with five buy ratings and one strong-buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $65.50, with recent targets reaching $68.
• Unity Bancorp’s latest quarterly results slightly missed estimates, reporting $1.42 EPS versus the $1.44 consensus and revenue of $33.75 million versus $34.62 million expected.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.17 per share, or $0.68 annualized, producing a 1.1% yield. Shares recently opened at $59.25, near their 52-week high of $62.50.

Shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) have received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the six research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $65.50.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Freedom Capital raised shares of Unity Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Unity Bancorp from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 price target on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Friday, September 11th.

Unity Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

UNTY stock opened at $59.25 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $594.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.17. The business's 50-day moving average is $58.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.65. Unity Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $44.34 and a fifty-two week high of $62.50.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.02). Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 30.26% and a return on equity of 16.10%. The firm had revenue of $33.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.62 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a boost from Unity Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 3rd. Unity Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.83%.

Insider Transactions at Unity Bancorp

In other Unity Bancorp news, President George Boyan sold 6,504 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.16, for a total value of $384,776.64. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 25,015 shares in the company, valued at $1,479,887.40. This represents a 20.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 28.87% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Unity Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $92,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 17.3% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $176,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Unity Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $213,000. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $268,000. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Unity Bancorp

Unity Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for Unity Bank, a full-service community bank headquartered in Clinton, New Jersey. The company provides banking services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations through a network of branches and digital banking channels.

Unity Bank offers checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer lending, residential mortgages, home equity financing, commercial real estate loans, construction financing and business loans.

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