Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $57.24 and last traded at $56.28, with a volume of 45173 shares. The stock had previously closed at $55.36.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $49.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.18. The firm has a market cap of $565.05 million, a P/E ratio of 10.66 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $32.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.35 million. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.60% and a net margin of 29.85%. As a group, analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend 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 presently 11.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of UNTY. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 159.1% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Unity Bancorp in the first quarter worth $49,000. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp during the third quarter worth $91,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

Unity Bancorp Company Profile

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.