Short Interest in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Increases By 21.9%

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 270,500 shares, an increase of 21.9% from the November 15th total of 221,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 106,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.6 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Univest Financial Trading Up 0.7 %

UVSP stock opened at $31.82 on Friday. Univest Financial has a one year low of $18.41 and a one year high of $32.75. The stock has a market cap of $924.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $29.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.96. 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 (NASDAQ:UVSP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $126.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $74.11 million. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 14.90%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Univest Financial will post 2.43 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th were issued a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. Univest Financial’s payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

Insider Activity at Univest Financial

In other Univest Financial news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 4,541 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.75, for a total value of $130,553.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,592,876.25. This trade represents a 4.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael S. Keim sold 3,633 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total transaction of $104,485.08. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,679 shares in the company, valued at $1,601,328.04. This represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 2.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Univest Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Univest Financial by 1.0% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,210,351 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,632,000 after acquiring an additional 12,401 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 23,770 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 482,089 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $11,006,000 after acquiring an additional 83,599 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA boosted its holdings in Univest Financial by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 404,942 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,245,000 after buying an additional 21,550 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Univest Financial by 57.5% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 228,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $6,425,000 after purchasing an additional 83,312 shares in the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Univest Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th.

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.