Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Stock Crosses Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY)’s share price passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.99 and traded as high as $45.73. Unity Bancorp shares last traded at $45.50, with a volume of 32,326 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of 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 Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $456.41 million, a P/E ratio of 11.21 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.99 and its 200 day moving average is $44.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $29.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.81 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 15.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.93 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. This is an increase from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.15%.

Insider Activity at Unity Bancorp

In related 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 now directly owns 8,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,506.71. This represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 29.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Unity Bancorp by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 310,953 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $13,561,000 after acquiring an additional 18,660 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Unity Bancorp by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 138,784 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,649,000 after acquiring an additional 40,809 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Unity Bancorp by 46.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 128,941 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,623,000 after acquiring an additional 40,710 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Unity Bancorp by 647.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 100,812 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,396,000 after acquiring an additional 87,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Unity Bancorp by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 81,323 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,310,000 after acquiring an additional 2,524 shares in the last quarter. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.