Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $34.01 and last traded at $34.01, with a volume of 647 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $32.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Univest Financial from $24.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Univest Financial Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.49. The company has a market capitalization of $938.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 0.88. 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 (NASDAQ:UVSP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.56 by $0.07. Univest Financial had a net margin of 14.90% and a return on equity of 8.24%. The firm had revenue of $126.59 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $74.11 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Univest Financial Co. will post 2.35 EPS for the current year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 6th were given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 6th. Univest Financial’s payout ratio is 33.73%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 4,541 shares of Univest Financial stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.75, for a total transaction of $130,553.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 90,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,592,876.25. The trade was a 4.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Michael S. Keim sold 3,633 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total value of $104,485.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,601,328.04. The trade was a 6.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Univest Financial

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Univest Financial in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Univest Financial in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Univest Financial by 2,713.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,463 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,411 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Univest Financial during the third quarter valued at approximately $79,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in Univest Financial by 212.7% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $85,000 after acquiring an additional 2,538 shares during the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.