Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) Short Interest Up 27.0% in March

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 296,900 shares, a growth of 27.0% from the February 28th total of 233,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 104,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company's shares are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other Univest Financial news, Director Anne Vazquez purchased 1,250 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $28.63 per share, with a total value of $35,787.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $178,937.50. This represents a 25.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Univest Financial

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Univest Financial by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 20,901 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 1,680 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC bought a new position in Univest Financial during the 4th quarter valued at $240,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Univest Financial by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 16,468 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Univest Financial by 57.0% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 28,505 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $841,000 after acquiring an additional 10,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Univest Financial in the 4th quarter worth about $354,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.07% of the company's stock.

Univest Financial Stock Down 1.7 %

NASDAQ UVSP traded down $0.45 on Friday, reaching $25.99. The company had a trading volume of 149,473 shares, compared to its average volume of 103,364. 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 1 year low of $18.41 and a 1 year high of $32.75. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.58 and a 200-day moving average of $29.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $753.76 million, a PE ratio of 10.03 and a beta of 0.89.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.08. Univest Financial had a net margin of 15.17% and a return on equity of 8.51%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Univest Financial will post 2.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, February 19th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 5th were issued a $0.21 dividend. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 5th. Univest Financial's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Univest Financial in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

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.