Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Short Interest Down 56.4% in October

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in 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. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 101,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on UVSP shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Univest Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $29.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 2,773 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.56, for a total value of $79,196.88. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,575,740.72. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Univest Financial news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 2,773 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.56, for a total value of $79,196.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,575,740.72. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael S. Keim sold 3,633 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total transaction of $104,485.08. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,601,328.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,389 shares of company stock valued at $412,352 over the last ninety days. 2.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Univest Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in Univest Financial by 10.7% during the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,713 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,909 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 8.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 82,701 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,722,000 after buying an additional 6,125 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 28.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 118,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,478,000 after buying an additional 26,234 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Univest Financial in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $465,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Univest Financial by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,571,213 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $32,713,000 after buying an additional 19,307 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Univest Financial Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Univest Financial stock opened at $31.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $916.60 million, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.85. Univest Financial has a one year low of $17.34 and a one year high of $32.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $28.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

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

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid 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 yield of 2.66%. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

About Univest Financial

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.