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

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in 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. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 102,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Univest Financial Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of Univest Financial stock opened at $28.27 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $29.45. Univest Financial has a 12-month low of $18.41 and a 12-month high of $32.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company has a market cap of $819.89 million, a P/E ratio of 10.92 and a beta of 0.89.

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, topping 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%. Research analysts anticipate that Univest Financial will post 2.36 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.97%. Univest Financial’s payout ratio is 32.43%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Univest Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bailard Inc. increased its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 21,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $624,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 24,724 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $730,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 28,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $842,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Univest Financial by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 4,796 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. 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.