Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Short Interest Up 27.0% in March

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 296,900 shares, a growth of 27.0% from the February 28th total of 233,800 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 104,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Insider Transactions at Univest Financial

In other news, Director Anne Vazquez purchased 1,250 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $28.63 per share, with a total value of $35,787.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,250 shares in the company, valued at $178,937.50. The trade was a 25.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Univest Financial

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Barclays PLC increased 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 worth $1,875,000 after purchasing an additional 31,783 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 64.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 103,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,913,000 after buying an additional 40,545 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $19,826,000 after buying an additional 23,770 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its position in Univest Financial by 75.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 48,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,373,000 after buying an additional 21,030 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Univest Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,299,000. Institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Univest Financial Price Performance

Shares of Univest Financial stock opened at $28.36 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $29.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $29.53. Univest Financial has a twelve month low of $18.41 and a twelve month high of $32.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $822.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.95 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 (NASDAQ:UVSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio is 32.43%.

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.