Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Reiterates “Market Perform” Rating for Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP)

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed their market perform rating on shares of Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a $23.00 target price on the financial services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $22.00.

Separately, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Univest Financial from $18.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, February 1st.

Univest Financial Trading Up 3.3 %

Shares of UVSP opened at $21.23 on Friday. Univest Financial has a 1 year low of $16.10 and a 1 year high of $22.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $19.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $626.92 million, a P/E ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.89.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.45 by $0.10. Univest Financial had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 8.42%. The business had revenue of $71.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.32 million. On average, equities analysts expect that Univest Financial will post 2.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Univest Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.21 per share. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. Univest Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.15%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Univest Financial

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in UVSP. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Univest Financial by 2,103.8% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,146 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 1,162 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP grew its holdings in Univest Financial by 1,029.9% in the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 1,823 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Univest Financial by 307.7% during the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,271 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 1,714 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Univest Financial by 212.8% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,941 shares during the last quarter. 75.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.