Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Short Interest Down 56.4% in October

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 154,600 shares, a decline of 56.4% from the October 15th total of 354,300 shares. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 101,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 4,541 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.75, for a total value of $130,553.75. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,187 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,592,876.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Univest Financial news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 4,541 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.75, for a total transaction of $130,553.75. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,592,876.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Michael S. Keim sold 3,633 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total transaction of $104,485.08. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 55,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,601,328.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,389 shares of company stock valued at $412,352. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Univest Financial during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Univest Financial during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Univest Financial by 2,713.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,463 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 212.7% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,731 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 2,538 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in Univest Financial by 11,533.8% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 8,609 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 8,535 shares during the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Univest Financial Price Performance

Univest Financial stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $31.23. 89,088 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 103,842. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Univest Financial has a 12-month low of $18.05 and a 12-month high of $32.24. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $28.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.49. The company has a market capitalization of $906.92 million, a P/E ratio of 12.81 and a beta of 0.85.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $126.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.11 million. Univest Financial had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 8.24%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.58 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Univest Financial will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be paid a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 6th. Univest Financial's payout ratio is 33.73%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on UVSP. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $29.00 target price (up from $23.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a report on Friday, July 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Univest Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th.

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.