Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Lowered to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an outperform rating and set a $39.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 15th.

Unity Bancorp Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ UNTY opened at $32.21 on Friday. Unity Bancorp has a 1 year low of $22.50 and a 1 year high of $35.66. The firm has a market cap of $321.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.50 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $32.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $28.96.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $25.46 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.81 million. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.71% and a net margin of 24.37%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Unity Bancorp will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 6th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.72%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP James Joseph Donovan sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.97, for a total value of $26,227.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,805.02. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Unity Bancorp news, SVP James Joseph Donovan sold 750 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.97, for a total transaction of $26,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,805.02. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Minsu Kim sold 2,264 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.90, for a total transaction of $79,013.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,727.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,046 shares of company stock worth $106,265. Insiders own 28.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Unity Bancorp by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 2,150 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Unity Bancorp by 80.3% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in Unity Bancorp by 6.0% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP grew its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 47.4% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 16,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 5,352 shares during the period. 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.