Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s What Happened

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $55.27 and last traded at $54.86, with a volume of 56925 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on UNTY shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Unity Bancorp from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.00.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $555.81 million, a P/E ratio of 10.48 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $48.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.03.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $32.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.35 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 29.85% and a return on equity of 15.60%. Sell-side analysts expect that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 11.36%.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 41.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.8% in the third quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 33,536 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,639,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 5.1% during the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 6,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 14.8% during the second quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $136,000 after buying an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 1.2% during the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 33,020 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,344,000 after buying an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. 42.31% of the stock is 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.