Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

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

Unity Bancorp Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ:UNTY opened at $27.88 on Tuesday. Unity Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.49 and a 12 month high of $30.70. The company has a market capitalization of $279.92 million, a P/E ratio of 7.32 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $27.52.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $25.56 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.15 million. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.23% and a net margin of 24.92%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Unity Bancorp will post 3.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Unity Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unity Bancorp

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

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 2.5% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 42,425 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $994,000 after purchasing an additional 1,023 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $117,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Unity Bancorp by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,540 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 2,150 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,200 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 80.3% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,389 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 1,509 shares during the last quarter. 42.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.