Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) Earns "Market Perform" Rating from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued their market perform rating on shares of Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $23.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock, up from their prior price objective of $22.00.

Separately, Piper Sandler boosted 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.

Univest Financial Stock Performance

Shares of Univest Financial stock traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, reaching $21.23. The company's stock had a trading volume of 101,048 shares, compared to its average volume of 105,457. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.63. The firm has a market cap of $626.92 million, a PE ratio of 8.77 and a beta of 0.89. Univest Financial has a fifty-two week low of $16.10 and a fifty-two week high of $22.49. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $70.32 million. Univest Financial had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 8.42%. On average, analysts forecast that Univest Financial will post 2.04 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.96%. Univest Financial's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Univest Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 2,103.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 1,787.7% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 5,597 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 12,188 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 1,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 64,778 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.