Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Earns "Overweight" Rating from Piper Sandler

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reiterated by equities researchers at Piper Sandler in a research note issued to 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 objective indicates a potential upside of 14.53% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Unity Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Unity Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd.

Unity Bancorp Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of UNTY stock traded up $0.90 on Thursday, reaching $47.15. The company had a trading volume of 45,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 42,710. The stock has a market cap of $471.03 million, a PE ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $44.70 and a 200-day moving average of $37.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Unity Bancorp has a 12 month low of $25.33 and a 12 month high of $48.44.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.05. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 24.46% and a return on equity of 14.63%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP David G. Bove sold 4,167 shares of the business'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 transaction of $194,932.26. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,837 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $460,174.86. The trade was a 29.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter E. Maricondo sold 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.74, for a total value of $125,272.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 39,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,768,214.28. This trade represents a 6.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,810 shares of company stock worth $499,642. Insiders own 28.88% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 84.6% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,464 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 1,129 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Unity Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $135,000. Princeton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Unity Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $208,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in Unity Bancorp by 93.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 14,197 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $484,000 after buying an additional 6,846 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the third quarter worth $623,000. 42.31% of the stock is currently 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.