Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $34.01 and last traded at $34.01, with a volume of 647 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Univest Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Univest Financial Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.49. The stock has a market cap of $938.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.88.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $126.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Univest Financial news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 4,541 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.75, for a total transaction of $130,553.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,592,876.25. The trade was a 4.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael S. Keim sold 3,633 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 55,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,601,328.04. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Univest Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVSP. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 21.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 482,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,006,000 after buying an additional 83,599 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Univest Financial by 57.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 228,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,425,000 after acquiring an additional 83,312 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Univest Financial by 91.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 66,603 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after acquiring an additional 31,783 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $2,013,000 after purchasing an additional 26,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $19,826,000 after purchasing an additional 23,770 shares during the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.