Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.06 EPS

Key Points

• Unity Bancorp reported quarterly earnings of $1.33 per share, exceeding estimates by $0.06, with a net margin of 28.72% and a return on equity of 15.34%.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.15, up from $0.14, representing an annual yield of 1.3% with a payout ratio of 12.15%.
• Multiple institutional investors have raised their stakes in Unity Bancorp, with increased share ownership leading to 42.31% of the company's stock held by institutions.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.06, Zacks reports. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 28.72% and a return on equity of 15.34%.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

UNTY opened at $47.16 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.20 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Unity Bancorp has a 1 year low of $35.76 and a 1 year high of $54.64. The company has a market capitalization of $473.01 million, a PE ratio of 9.55 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.99.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Unity Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Unity Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its stake in Unity Bancorp by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 348,790 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $16,421,000 after buying an additional 12,652 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC raised its position in Unity Bancorp by 4.4% during the second quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 84,931 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,999,000 after purchasing an additional 3,608 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 7.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,456 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,524,000 after buying an additional 2,524 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its position in Unity Bancorp by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 37,303 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,756,000 after acquiring an additional 3,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Unity Bancorp by 300.8% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 29,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 22,439 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.31% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on UNTY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Unity Bancorp from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Unity Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $56.50.

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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