Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Short Interest Update

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 264,500 shares, an increase of 21.5% from the March 31st total of 217,700 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 99,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on UVSP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $23.00 price target (up from $22.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a research report on Friday. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Univest Financial from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 1st.

Institutional Trading of Univest Financial

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of UVSP. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 2,103.8% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 1,787.7% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 1,029.9% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 307.7% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,714 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 212.8% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,941 shares during the period. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Univest Financial Stock Up 3.3 %

NASDAQ:UVSP opened at $21.23 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $626.92 million, a P/E ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. Univest Financial has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $22.49. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.69.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.15%.

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.