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

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, May 22nd, RTT News reports. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 6th.

Unity Bancorp has increased its dividend by an average of 13.0% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 12 years. Unity Bancorp has a payout ratio of 10.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research 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 opened at $43.36 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $42.13 and its 200-day moving average is $44.37. The company has a market cap of $434.94 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 0.69. 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.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 15.08% and a net margin of 25.24%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.93 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Unity Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

UNTY has been the topic of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Unity Bancorp from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday.

Insider Activity at Unity Bancorp

In related news, Director Donald E. Jr. Souders sold 1,333 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.23, for a total transaction of $54,959.59. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,477 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,506.71. This trade represents a 13.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 29.68% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $283,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Unity Bancorp by 70.8% during 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 grew its stake in Unity Bancorp by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 37,456 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,524,000 after purchasing an additional 2,524 shares in the last quarter. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.