Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Given Overweight Rating at Piper Sandler

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Piper Sandler in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $54.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $53.00. Piper Sandler’s price target suggests a potential upside of 19.23% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on UNTY. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Unity Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Unity Bancorp Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of UNTY traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $45.29. 15,161 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 38,843. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $44.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.56. Unity Bancorp has a 1 year low of $25.33 and a 1 year high of $48.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $452.45 million, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 24.46% and a return on equity of 14.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp will post 4.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.98, for a total transaction of $46,914.14. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $371,085. This trade represents a 11.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mark S. Brody sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.33, for a total transaction of $132,524.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 70,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,313,194.66. This trade represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,810 shares of company stock valued at $499,642 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 28.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 79.3% during 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 in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $623,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in 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 during the period. Princeton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Unity Bancorp during the third quarter worth $208,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Unity Bancorp by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 478,877 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $14,159,000 after purchasing an additional 5,449 shares during the period. 42.31% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.