Unity Bancorp’s (UNTY) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $55.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $51.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.65% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on UNTY. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $54.00 price target (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com cut Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Unity Bancorp Stock Up 1.9 %

UNTY opened at $47.15 on Thursday. Unity Bancorp has a 12 month low of $25.33 and a 12 month high of $48.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.80. The company has a market cap of $471.03 million, a P/E ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 1.03.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 24.46%. On average, equities analysts expect that Unity Bancorp will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.98, for a total value of $46,914.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,250 shares in the company, valued at $371,085. This trade represents a 11.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP David G. Bove sold 4,167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.78, for a total value of $194,932.26. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,837 shares in the company, valued at $460,174.86. This trade represents a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,810 shares of company stock valued at $499,642. Corporate insiders own 28.88% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Inspire Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $845,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $135,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 79.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 88,231 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,005,000 after purchasing an additional 39,033 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 93.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,197 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 152,590 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,198,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.