Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 179,100 shares, a drop of 40.4% from the January 15th total of 300,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 103,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Univest Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Univest Financial stock traded down $0.05 on Thursday, hitting $30.74. The stock had a trading volume of 18,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 90,704. The stock has a market cap of $892.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 0.89. 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 has a twelve month low of $18.41 and a twelve month high of $32.75. The business’s 50 day moving average is $30.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.99.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.08. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.51% and a net margin of 15.17%. Analysts forecast that Univest Financial will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 32.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Univest Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Univest Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd.

Institutional Trading of Univest Financial

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Univest Financial by 3.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 704,445 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $19,826,000 after buying an additional 23,770 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Univest Financial by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 632,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,661,000 after acquiring an additional 71,265 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Univest Financial by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 239,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,055,000 after acquiring an additional 3,769 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 57.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 228,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,425,000 after acquiring an additional 83,312 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 23.0% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 173,024 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,106,000 after purchasing an additional 32,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

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.