Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Stock Breaks Below Two Hundred Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Unity Bancorp shares fell below their 200-day moving average, reaching $55.57 before trading at $56.36. The stock’s 200-day average is $56.46, while its market capitalization is approximately $565.9 million.
• Despite the technical weakness, analysts remain positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $65.50. Recent quarterly earnings also exceeded estimates, with EPS of $1.51 versus the $1.49 consensus and revenue of $36.65 million.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.17 per share, equating to an annualized dividend of $0.68 and a 1.2% yield. Institutional ownership stands at 42.31%, while an insider sale reduced President George Boyan’s holdings by 20.64%.

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) shares passed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a 200-day moving average of $56.46 and traded as low as $55.57. Unity Bancorp shares last traded at $56.36, with a volume of 40,226 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings raised Unity Bancorp from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler upped their price target 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, Freedom Capital upgraded shares of Unity Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $65.50.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

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 $565.85 million, a P/E ratio of 9.33 and a beta of 0.65. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $57.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $56.46.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $36.65 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $35.63 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 31.00% and a return on equity of 16.34%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. This is a boost from Unity Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 3rd. Unity Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unity Bancorp news, President George Boyan sold 6,504 shares of the 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 transaction, the president owned 25,015 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,479,887.40. This represents a 20.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 28.87% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,299,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 9.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Unity Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $2,410,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Unity Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $1,976,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Unity Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $1,240,000. 42.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Unity Bancorp

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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