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

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 233,800 shares, a growth of 45.8% from the February 13th total of 160,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 102,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.3 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Univest Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Univest Financial Stock Up 0.8 %

UVSP stock opened at $28.50 on Tuesday. Univest Financial has a fifty-two week low of $18.41 and a fifty-two week high of $32.75. The company has a market capitalization of $826.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 0.89. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $29.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.46. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.08. Univest Financial had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 8.51%. As a group, analysts forecast that Univest Financial will post 2.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.43%.

Institutional Trading of Univest Financial

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

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.