Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Shares Cross Below 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) shares passed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $56.46 and traded as low as $55.57. Unity Bancorp shares last traded at $56.36, with a volume of 40,226 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UNTY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Freedom Capital raised Unity Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Unity Bancorp from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have given a Buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $65.50.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $583.42 million, a PE ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $57.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.52.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.02. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.34% and a net margin of 31.00%. The company had revenue of $36.65 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.63 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 5.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 3rd. This is an increase from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Unity Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 11.26%.

Insider Activity at Unity Bancorp

In other news, President George Boyan sold 6,504 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.16, for a total value of $384,776.64. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 25,015 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,479,887.40. The trade was a 20.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Peter E. Maricondo sold 470 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.25, for a total value of $26,437.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,943 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,809,293.75. The trade was a 0.93% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 7,819 shares of company stock valued at $461,162 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 28.87% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 17.3% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,391 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $176,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $44,000. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 9.4% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 9,945 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 851 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,676 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,563 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $92,000. Institutional investors own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

Unity Bancorp Company Profile

Unity Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for Unity Bank, a community-focused financial institution headquartered in Clinton, New Jersey. The bank provides banking and financial services to individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations through locations primarily serving central New Jersey.

Unity Bank offers a range of deposit products, including checking, savings, money market and certificate of deposit accounts, as well as consumer, residential mortgage and commercial lending.