Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) Price Target Increased to $24.00 by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) had its price target hoisted by Piper Sandler from $20.00 to $24.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a market perform rating and set a $29.00 price objective (up from $23.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a report on Friday.

Univest Financial Stock Performance

UVSP stock opened at $29.18 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $23.03 and a 200-day moving average of $21.33. Univest Financial has a 12-month low of $16.10 and a 12-month high of $29.49. The firm has a market cap of $854.10 million, a PE ratio of 12.21 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.51 by $0.10. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.29% and a net margin of 14.91%. The business had revenue of $120.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Univest Financial will post 2.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Univest Financial news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.55, for a total transaction of $202,950.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,033,716.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Univest Financial

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Univest Financial by 28.3% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 118,994 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,478,000 after buying an additional 26,234 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Univest Financial by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 439,664 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $9,589,000 after buying an additional 19,707 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Univest Financial by 212.8% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 1,941 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Univest Financial by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,197,934 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,390,000 after buying an additional 98,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Univest Financial by 1,787.7% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.07% of the company’s stock.

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.