Unity Bancorp, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.13 (NASDAQ:UNTY)

Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 22nd,Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share by the financial services provider on Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th.

Unity Bancorp has increased its dividend payment by an average of 14.5% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 11 years. Unity Bancorp has a dividend payout ratio of 11.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Unity Bancorp to earn $4.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 11.5%.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

UNTY stock traded up $0.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $46.61. 25,432 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,760. The company has a 50-day moving average of $38.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.86. The company has a market capitalization of $465.63 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 1.16. Unity Bancorp has a twelve month low of $25.33 and a twelve month high of $48.08.

Unity Bancorp (NASDAQ:UNTY) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $27.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $26.40 million. Unity Bancorp had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 24.46%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Unity Bancorp will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UNTY has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Unity Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $44.00 price target (up previously from $40.00) on shares of Unity Bancorp in a research note on Monday, October 14th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Vincent Geraci sold 1,043 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,250 shares in the company, valued at $371,085. This represents a 11.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 28.88% of the company’s stock.

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.