Short Interest in Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Expands By 21.5%

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Univest Financial

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,823 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $50,000 after acquiring an additional 1,714 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,941 shares during the period. 75.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on UVSP shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $23.00 target price (up from $22.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler increased their price target 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.

Univest Financial Stock Up 3.3 %

Univest Financial stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $21.23. The company had a trading volume of 101,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 77,896. The stock has a market cap of $626.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.89. Univest Financial has a 1 year low of $16.10 and a 1 year high of $22.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a fifty day moving average of $19.81 and a 200 day moving average of $19.67.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $71.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.32 million. Univest Financial had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 8.42%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Univest Financial will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

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

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.