Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) Stock Has Average Target Price of $65.50

Key Points

• Analysts remain bullish: Unity Bancorp has a consensus “Buy” rating from six analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $65.50 versus the reported share price of $54.33.
• Recent results came in slightly below expectations: The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.42, below the $1.44 consensus estimate, while revenue of $33.75 million also missed forecasts.
• Shareholder returns and ownership remain notable: Unity Bancorp raised its quarterly dividend to $0.17 per share, while institutional investors own 42.31% of the stock; the company’s president recently sold 6,504 shares.

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

Several research firms have recently weighed in on UNTY. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Friday, July 31st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Unity Bancorp from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Freedom Capital raised shares of Unity Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, DA Davidson reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $68.00 target price on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Friday, September 11th.

Insider Activity

In other news, President George Boyan sold 6,504 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.16, for a total value of $384,776.64. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 25,015 shares in the company, valued at $1,479,887.40. This trade represents a 20.64% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 28.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Unity Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $32,299,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,410,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,976,000. Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,517,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,240,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.31% of the company's stock.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UNTY opened at $54.33 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $545.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.45 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $58.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.25. 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 announced 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 company had revenue of $33.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.62 million. On average, analysts expect that Unity Bancorp will post 5.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 3rd. This is a positive change from Unity Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Unity Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 11.83%.

Unity Bancorp Company Profile

Unity Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for Unity Bank, a community-focused financial institution serving individuals, families and businesses in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. Headquartered in Clinton, New Jersey, Unity Bank operates through a network of branches and provides relationship-based banking services to customers in its local markets.

The bank offers a range of deposit products, including checking, savings, money market accounts and certificates of deposit. Its lending activities include commercial and industrial loans, commercial real estate financing, residential mortgages, home equity loans and consumer loans.

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