Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 154,600 shares, a decrease of 56.4% from the October 15th total of 354,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 101,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on UVSP. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Univest Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $29.00 target price (up from $23.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Michael S. Keim sold 3,633 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total transaction of $104,485.08. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 55,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,601,328.04. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 4,541 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.75, for a total value of $130,553.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,592,876.25. The trade was a 4.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 14,389 shares of company stock worth $412,352 over the last three months. 2.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Univest Financial

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Centiva Capital LP acquired a new position in Univest Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its position in Univest Financial by 58.8% during the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 71,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,013,000 after buying an additional 26,473 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 47,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after acquiring an additional 6,667 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Univest Financial during the third quarter worth $417,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Univest Financial by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 93,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,636,000 after purchasing an additional 4,690 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Univest Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

UVSP traded down $0.39 on Friday, hitting $30.84. The company had a trading volume of 53,345 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,005. The company has a market cap of $895.59 million, a PE ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.85. Univest Financial has a 12-month low of $18.17 and a 12-month high of $32.24. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $28.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $126.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.11 million. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 14.90%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Univest Financial will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.72%. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.73%.

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.