Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) Shares Pass Above Fifty Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.67 and traded as high as $47.53. Unity Bancorp shares last traded at $46.61, with a volume of 30,691 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

UNTY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded Unity Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Unity Bancorp from $43.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $44.00 price target (up from $40.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $467.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a current ratio of 1.16. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $34.77.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, October 11th. The financial services provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.10. Unity Bancorp had a net margin of 24.46% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The business had revenue of $27.66 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $26.40 million. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Unity Bancorp, Inc. will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Unity Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Unity Bancorp's payout ratio is 13.37%.

Insider Activity at Unity Bancorp

In other Unity Bancorp news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,043 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.98, for a total transaction of $46,914.14. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $371,085. This trade represents a 11.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark S. Brody sold 2,800 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.33, for a total transaction of $132,524.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 70,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,313,194.66. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,643 shares of company stock worth $304,710. Insiders own 28.88% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Unity Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UNTY. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Unity Bancorp by 0.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 414,036 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $11,427,000 after purchasing an additional 3,170 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Unity Bancorp by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 35,083 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,037,000 after buying an additional 2,393 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,328 shares in the last quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Unity Bancorp by 2.4% during the second quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,852 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $617,000 after buying an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $202,000. 42.31% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Unity Bancorp Company Profile

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.