Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $50.39 and last traded at $50.23, with a volume of 7867 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.92.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on UNTY shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up previously from $51.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $54.00 price objective (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 16th.

Unity Bancorp Stock Down 2.6 %

The company has a market cap of $494.60 million, a P/E ratio of 12.19 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $45.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.69.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 25.24% and a return on equity of 15.08%. Equities research analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 13th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Peter E. Maricondo sold 2,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.74, for a total value of $125,272.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,522 shares in the company, valued at $1,768,214.28. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP David G. Bove sold 4,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total value of $194,932.26. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,837 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $460,174.86. This represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,558 shares of company stock worth $833,398 in the last quarter. Insiders own 28.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 0.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,198,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 94,750 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 607 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,464 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $84,000 after purchasing an additional 1,129 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $67,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 33,303 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,134,000 after buying an additional 1,608 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

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.