StockNews.com Upgrades Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) to Buy

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $39.00 price objective (up from $35.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 15th.

Unity Bancorp Stock Up 1.2 %

Unity Bancorp stock opened at $33.93 on Friday. Unity Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.50 and a fifty-two week high of $35.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $338.62 million, a P/E ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.67.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last posted its earnings results on Friday, July 12th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.94 by ($0.01). Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 24.37% and a return on equity of 14.71%. The firm had revenue of $25.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.81 million. Equities research analysts expect that Unity Bancorp will post 3.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Unity Bancorp

In other Unity Bancorp news, SVP Minsu Kim sold 2,264 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.90, for a total transaction of $79,013.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,727.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Minsu Kim sold 2,264 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.90, for a total value of $79,013.60. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 3,975 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,727.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP James Joseph Donovan sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.97, for a total value of $26,227.50. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,805.02. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,046 shares of company stock valued at $106,265 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 28.88% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Unity Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,852 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 500 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 20,007 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 2,329.8% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Unity Bancorp by 80.3% during the first 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.