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

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) saw a large decline in short interest during 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. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 103,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on UVSP shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Univest Financial in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Piper Sandler boosted 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Univest Financial by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,204,530 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $35,546,000 after purchasing an additional 75,964 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Univest Financial by 3.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 23,770 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Univest Financial by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 632,354 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,661,000 after purchasing an additional 71,265 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 339,290 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,012,000 after purchasing an additional 9,184 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in Univest Financial by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 239,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,055,000 after buying an additional 3,769 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Univest Financial Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Univest Financial stock traded up $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.41. 165,429 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 90,599. The company has a market cap of $912.15 million, a PE ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.14 and a 200-day moving average of $29.02. Univest Financial has a 12 month low of $18.41 and a 12 month high of $32.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.08. Univest Financial had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 8.51%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Univest Financial will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 5th will be issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.43%.

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.