Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Receives Buy Rating from DA Davidson

DA Davidson restated their buy rating on shares of Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $68.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

UNTY has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Brean Capital initiated coverage on Unity Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $61.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Unity Bancorp from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings raised Unity Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Freedom Capital upgraded Unity Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Unity Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.50.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:UNTY opened at $56.62 on Wednesday. Unity Bancorp has a 1-year low of $44.34 and a 1-year high of $60.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $568.46 million, a PE ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.62.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.44 by ($0.02). Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 30.26% and a return on equity of 16.40%. The firm had revenue of $34.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.62 million. On average, research analysts expect that Unity Bancorp will post 5.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 4th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 4th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Mary E. Gross sold 2,075 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.01, for a total transaction of $116,220.75. Following the transaction, the director owned 18,479 shares in the company, valued at $1,035,008.79. This trade represents a 10.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark S. Brody sold 1,600 shares of Unity Bancorp stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.23, for a total value of $88,368.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 113,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,288,156.42. This represents a 1.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 28.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 857 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 6,056 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $287,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Gator Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Gator Capital Management LLC now owns 33,851 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,751,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 3.7% during the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 10,805 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 42.31% of the company’s stock.

Unity Bancorp News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Unity Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: DA Davidson reaffirmed its buy rating on Unity Bancorp and lifted its price target to $68, implying meaningful upside from current levels. Benzinga report
• Neutral Sentiment: Unity Bancorp reported Q2 net income of $14.5 million, or $1.42 per share, slightly higher than the prior quarter and reflecting solid profitability, a 2.01% return on average assets, and a 15.86% return on average equity. GlobeNewswire release
• Neutral Sentiment: The quarter was not a clean beat: EPS came in below consensus and revenue of $34.4 million also missed estimates, which may limit enthusiasm despite the year-over-year improvement. Zacks article
• Neutral Sentiment: Commentary around strong loan and deposit growth, healthy capital and liquidity, and a solid loan pipeline suggests the bank’s underlying fundamentals remain stable, though macro uncertainty and elevated rates remain a risk. Quiver Quant article

About Unity Bancorp

Unity Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker UNTY. Through its primary subsidiary, Unity Bank, the company delivers a comprehensive suite of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, businesses and municipal clients in its regional markets.

Founded in 1906, Unity Bank maintains a network of conveniently located branches across Bucks County and adjacent areas of southeastern Pennsylvania. The company’s deposit portfolio includes checking and savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, while its loan offerings encompass commercial real estate, construction and land development, agricultural and consumer lending solutions.

Beyond traditional deposit and lending activities, Unity Bancorp provides cash management and merchant services, as well as internet and mobile banking platforms designed to streamline day-to-day financial operations.