Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP) Increases Dividend to $0.23 Per Share

Key Points

• Univest raised its quarterly dividend to $0.23 per share, a 4.5% increase from $0.22, yielding about 2.5% with an ex-dividend date of May 6 and payment on May 20.
• The dividend appears well covered, with a current payout ratio of 30.2% and analysts projecting $3.65 in EPS next year—implying an expected future payout ratio near 24.1%.
• Univest recently beat expectations with $0.96 EPS vs. $0.84 forecast and $87.45M revenue, trades at a P/E of 11.7 and carries an average analyst rating of "Hold" with a $35 target while the stock is near $36.73.

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.23 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, May 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 6th. This is a 4.5% increase from Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 1 consecutive years. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania has a dividend payout ratio of 30.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania to earn $3.65 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 24.1%.

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania Price Performance

Shares of UVSP stock opened at $36.73 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.61. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $34.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $33.07. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania has a one year low of $27.77 and a one year high of $38.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.05.

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.84 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $87.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $84.85 million. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania had a net margin of 17.51% and a return on equity of 9.82%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania will post 3.4 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on UVSP. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania from $34.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $35.00.

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania Company Profile

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania is a financial holding company headquartered in Souderton, Pennsylvania, operating through its primary subsidiary, Univest Bank and Trust Co The company offers a comprehensive range of banking services, including commercial and consumer lending, deposit products, mortgage banking, treasury and payment solutions, and wealth management services. Through its community banking model, Univest serves individuals, small to middle-market businesses, and nonprofit and public institutions.

Founded in 1893 as Souderton Industrial Savings Association, Univest has grown through a combination of organic expansion and targeted acquisitions.

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