Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) Increases Dividend to $0.16 Per Share

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) announced a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of 0.16 per share by the financial services provider on Friday, March 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is a 6.7% increase from Unity Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15.

Unity Bancorp has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 12 consecutive years. Unity Bancorp has a payout ratio of 10.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Unity Bancorp to earn $5.44 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.0%.

Unity Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of UNTY traded down $1.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $52.34. The stock had a trading volume of 12,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 46,787. Unity Bancorp has a 52 week low of $36.65 and a 52 week high of $57.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $53.56 and a 200-day moving average price of $51.24. The firm has a market cap of $525.46 million, a P/E ratio of 9.22 and a beta of 0.66.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 13th. The financial services provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.06. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 16.19% and a net margin of 30.76%.The company had revenue of $33.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.39 million. On average, equities research analysts expect that Unity Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Unity Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Unity Bancorp from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $65.00.

Unity Bancorp Company Profile

Unity Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, trading on the NASDAQ under the ticker UNTY. Through its primary subsidiary, Unity Bank, the company delivers a comprehensive suite of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, businesses and municipal clients in its regional markets.

Founded in 1906, Unity Bank maintains a network of conveniently located branches across Bucks County and adjacent areas of southeastern Pennsylvania. The company’s deposit portfolio includes checking and savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit, while its loan offerings encompass commercial real estate, construction and land development, agricultural and consumer lending solutions.

Beyond traditional deposit and lending activities, Unity Bancorp provides cash management and merchant services, as well as internet and mobile banking platforms designed to streamline day-to-day financial operations.