Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Stock Price Down 4.9% – Here’s What Happened

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY)’s stock price was down 4.9% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $53.48 and last traded at $53.4750. Approximately 8,690 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 50,433 shares. The stock had previously closed at $56.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on UNTY shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Unity Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Unity Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Unity Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $65.00.

Unity Bancorp Trading Down 2.6%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $52.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $51.46. The firm has a market cap of $536.52 million, a PE ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $33.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.39 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 30.76% and a return on equity of 15.88%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.16 dividend. This is an increase from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 11.29%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Unity Bancorp news, SVP Minsu Kim sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.13, for a total value of $42,097.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,398.83. This trade represents a 48.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO James A. Hughes sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total transaction of $81,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 173,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,429,208.50. This represents a 0.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 19,678 shares of company stock valued at $1,003,769. Corporate insiders own 28.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UNTY. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 600.2% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 40,327 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,086,000 after acquiring an additional 34,568 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 115.9% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 50,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,488,000 after acquiring an additional 27,340 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 300.8% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 29,898 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,408,000 after acquiring an additional 22,439 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 32.8% in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 78,738 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,072,000 after acquiring an additional 19,468 shares during the period. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $952,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

Unity Bancorp Company Profile

Unity Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker UNTY. Through its primary subsidiary, Unity Bank, the company delivers a comprehensive suite of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, businesses and municipal clients in its regional markets.

Founded in 1906, Unity Bank maintains a network of conveniently located branches across Bucks County and adjacent areas of southeastern Pennsylvania. The company’s deposit portfolio includes checking and savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, while its loan offerings encompass commercial real estate, construction and land development, agricultural and consumer lending solutions.

Beyond traditional deposit and lending activities, Unity Bancorp provides cash management and merchant services, as well as internet and mobile banking platforms designed to streamline day-to-day financial operations.