StockNews.com Lowers Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

Unity Bancorp Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ UNTY opened at $27.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $27.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $27.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $275.70 million, a P/E ratio of 7.21 and a beta of 1.04. Unity Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.49 and a 52-week high of $30.70.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $25.56 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.15 million. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 24.92% and a return on equity of 15.23%. Analysts expect that Unity Bancorp will post 3.81 EPS for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO James A. Hughes sold 1,156 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.28, for a total value of $31,535.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 137,735 shares in the company, valued at $3,757,410.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 2,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.19, for a total value of $70,694.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,359.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Hughes sold 1,156 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.28, for a total transaction of $31,535.68. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 137,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,757,410.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 28.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UNTY. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $117,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Unity Bancorp by 2.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 42,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 414,036 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,427,000 after purchasing an additional 3,170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 75.2% during the 1st quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 16,552 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $457,000 after purchasing an additional 7,104 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.