Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $34.00 to $36.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania traded as high as $36.00 and last traded at $35.62, with a volume of 35818 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.30.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler began coverage on Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $34.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $35.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in shares of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania by 22.2% in the 4th quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 617,526 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,218,000 after purchasing an additional 112,203 shares in the last quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania in the fourth quarter worth $688,000. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its stake in Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 88,187 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,887,000 after purchasing an additional 9,951 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania during the fourth quarter valued at about $213,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in shares of Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 22,333 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $731,000 after buying an additional 3,687 shares during the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania Stock Up 0.3%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.28 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania (NASDAQ:UVSP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The financial services provider reported $0.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.01. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania had a return on equity of 9.89% and a net margin of 17.51%.The company had revenue of $84.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.54 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 25th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 11th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 11th. Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania’s payout ratio is presently 28.03%.

About Univest Corporation of Pennsylvania

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.