Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on UNTY. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Unity Bancorp from $55.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Unity Bancorp from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.00.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

UNTY stock opened at $48.57 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $487.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $48.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. Unity Bancorp has a 12-month low of $36.65 and a 12-month high of $54.64.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 29.85% and a return on equity of 15.94%. The company had revenue of $32.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.35 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that Unity Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This is a boost from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. Unity Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 11.36%.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 122.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 612 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 159.1% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 987 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the first quarter worth $49,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Unity Bancorp in the third quarter worth about $91,000. 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.