Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) Declares $0.14 Quarterly Dividend

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 22nd, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, June 20th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th.

Unity Bancorp has raised its dividend payment by an average of 13.0% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Unity Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 10.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Unity Bancorp to earn $5.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 10.3%.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

Unity Bancorp stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $43.96. 68,102 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 30,447. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Unity Bancorp has a 12 month low of $25.60 and a 12 month high of $51.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $440.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $44.35.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.01. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 25.24%. The company had revenue of $29.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $28.81 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Unity Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unity Bancorp

In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Donald E. Jr. Souders sold 1,333 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total transaction of $54,959.59. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,477 shares in the company, valued at $349,506.71. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 29.68% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $283,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 70.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,419 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 4,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares during the period. 42.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on UNTY. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Unity Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Unity Bancorp from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 14th.

Unity Bancorp Company Profile

Unity Bancorp, Inc operates as a bank holding company for Unity Bank that provides range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small and medium sized businesses, and professional communities. It offers personal and business checking accounts, time deposits, money market accounts, savings accounts, and retirement accounts, as well as noninterest and interest-bearing demand deposits.