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

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) was the target of a large growth in short interest in 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. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 99,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in Univest Financial by 1,787.7% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 1,162 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in Univest Financial by 1,029.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,823 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Univest Financial by 307.7% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 1,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 212.8% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Univest Financial Price Performance

UVSP stock opened at $21.23 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $626.92 million, a P/E ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.89. Univest Financial has a twelve month low of $16.10 and a twelve month high of $22.49. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.69. 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 Dividend Announcement

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. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.