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

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) was the target of a significant 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. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 101,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at Univest Financial

In other news, COO Michael S. Keim sold 3,633 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $104,485.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,601,328.04. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.50, for a total value of $34,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,570,329.50. This trade represents a 1.31 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,389 shares of company stock valued at $412,352. 2.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Univest Financial

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in Univest Financial in the third quarter worth about $209,000. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its holdings in 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 worth $2,013,000 after buying an additional 26,473 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Univest Financial by 16.2% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 47,700 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,342,000 after acquiring an additional 6,667 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Univest Financial during the 3rd quarter valued at about $417,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 5.3% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 93,691 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,636,000 after acquiring an additional 4,690 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

UVSP has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $29.00 price target (up from $23.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

Univest Financial Trading Down 1.2 %

UVSP traded down $0.39 on Friday, hitting $30.84. 53,345 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 104,005. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $28.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $25.53. Univest Financial has a 12 month low of $18.17 and a 12 month high of $32.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $895.59 million, a PE ratio of 12.54 and a beta of 0.85. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $126.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.11 million. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 14.90%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Univest Financial will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors 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 2.72%. Univest Financial’s payout ratio is 33.73%.

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.