Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Reaches New 12-Month High - Time to Buy?

Shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $52.26 and last traded at $52.29, with a volume of 41762 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $50.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on UNTY shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unity Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Unity Bancorp from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $44.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $44.18. The company has a market capitalization of $524.42 million, a P/E ratio of 12.27 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $29.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $28.81 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 25.95% and a return on equity of 14.99%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. Unity Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is 13.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 647.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 100,812 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,396,000 after purchasing an additional 87,321 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,795,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 41.7% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 138,784 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,649,000 after buying an additional 40,809 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 46.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 128,941 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,623,000 after buying an additional 40,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Axecap Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $1,237,000. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Unity Bancorp

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.

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