Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Short Interest Up 43.5% in November

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 221,900 shares, a growth of 43.5% from the October 31st total of 154,600 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 102,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling at Univest Financial

In other Univest Financial news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Michael S. Keim sold 3,633 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $104,485.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,601,328.04. This trade represents a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 10,374 shares of company stock worth $297,699. Insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Univest Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVSP. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Univest Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Univest Financial during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 2,713.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 1,411 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Univest Financial in the 3rd quarter valued at about $79,000. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,538 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Univest Financial Trading Down 0.7 %

Univest Financial stock traded down $0.21 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $31.76. 102,626 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 104,099. The firm has a market capitalization of $922.41 million, a P/E ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.85. Univest Financial has a fifty-two week low of $18.41 and a fifty-two week high of $32.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $26.28.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $126.59 million for 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Univest Financial will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 6th. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.