Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Short Interest Update

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) saw a significant decline in short interest during the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 217,700 shares, a decline of 33.0% from the April 30th total of 325,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 92,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 target price (up previously from $22.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a research report on Friday, April 26th.

Insider Transactions at Univest Financial

In other news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.55, for a total transaction of $202,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,716.85. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Univest Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVSP. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 2,103.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 1,787.7% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 1,029.9% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 307.7% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 212.8% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,941 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Univest Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

NASDAQ UVSP opened at $21.80 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.50. The company has a market capitalization of $638.09 million, a PE ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Univest Financial has a 12 month low of $16.10 and a 12 month high of $23.10.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $77.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $71.40 million. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.35% and a net margin of 14.98%. Research analysts forecast that Univest Financial will post 2.05 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th were issued a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.15%.

Univest Financial Company Profile

Univest Financial Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Univest Bank and Trust Co that provides banking products and services primarily in the United States. It operates through three segments: Banking, Wealth Management, and Insurance. The Banking segment offers a range of banking services, such as deposit taking, loan origination and servicing, mortgage banking, other general banking, and equipment lease financing services for individuals, businesses, municipalities, and nonprofit organizations.