Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Short Interest Down 40.4% in January

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 179,100 shares, a decline of 40.4% from the January 15th total of 300,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 103,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 0.6% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Univest Financial Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ UVSP opened at $31.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Univest Financial has a 1 year low of $18.41 and a 1 year high of $32.75. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.99. The firm has a market cap of $906.92 million, a PE ratio of 12.06 and a beta of 0.89.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 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%. On average, research analysts forecast that Univest Financial will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial’s payout ratio is presently 32.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Univest Financial

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 91.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Univest Financial by 64.4% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 103,531 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,913,000 after buying an additional 40,545 shares during the last quarter. 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 period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 75.8% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 48,782 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,373,000 after purchasing an additional 21,030 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P raised its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 58.8% in 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. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

UVSP has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Univest Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Univest Financial in a report on Thursday, January 23rd.

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.