Short Interest in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Drops By 56.4%

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 154,600 shares, a drop of 56.4% from the October 15th total of 354,300 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 101,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Univest Financial Trading Down 0.0 %

Univest Financial stock traded down $0.01 during trading on Thursday, reaching $31.23. 91,381 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 104,234. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $28.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.53. The company has a market capitalization of $906.92 million, a P/E ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.85. Univest Financial has a 52-week low of $18.17 and a 52-week high of $32.24.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.07. Univest Financial had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The firm had revenue of $126.59 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $74.11 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Univest Financial will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 1,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.50, for a total value of $34,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,570,329.50. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael S. Keim sold 3,633 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $104,485.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 55,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,601,328.04. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,389 shares of company stock worth $412,352 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Univest Financial

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in UVSP. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Univest Financial during the third quarter worth $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Univest Financial during the 2nd quarter worth $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Univest Financial by 2,713.5% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Univest Financial by 212.7% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 2,538 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Univest Financial in the third quarter valued at about $239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on UVSP. Piper Sandler lifted their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (up previously from $23.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

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.