Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 11,252 Unity Bancorp, Inc. $UNTY

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:UNTY) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $550,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in UNTY. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Unity Bancorp by 41.7% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 748 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in Unity Bancorp in the first quarter valued at about $49,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $91,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Unity Bancorp by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,883 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $136,000 after acquiring an additional 372 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Unity Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $141,000. 42.31% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Unity Bancorp Price Performance

Unity Bancorp stock opened at $53.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $536.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $53.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $51.04. Unity Bancorp, Inc. has a 52 week low of $36.65 and a 52 week high of $57.30.

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

Insider Activity at Unity Bancorp

In other news, SVP James Joseph Donovan sold 777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.07, for a total value of $43,566.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO James A. Hughes sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.50, for a total value of $81,750.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 173,013 shares in the company, valued at $9,429,208.50. This trade represents a 0.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 4,865 shares of company stock valued at $268,336. 29.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Unity Bancorp

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.