Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) to Issue $0.21 Quarterly Dividend

Univest Financial Co. (NASDAQ:UVSP) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, Zacks reports. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 6th will be given a dividend of 0.21 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, November 20th. This represents a $0.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 6th.

Univest Financial has raised its dividend by an average of 11.9% annually over the last three years. Univest Financial has a payout ratio of 38.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Univest Financial to earn $2.32 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.84 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 36.2%.

Univest Financial Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:UVSP opened at $28.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $827.81 million, a PE ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.85. Univest Financial has a 52 week low of $16.10 and a 52 week high of $29.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $27.66 and its 200-day moving average is $24.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Univest Financial (NASDAQ:UVSP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The financial services provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.07. Univest Financial had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 14.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.58 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Univest Financial will post 2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Univest Financial from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $29.00 price objective (up previously from $23.00) on shares of Univest Financial in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Univest Financial news, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 1,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.50, for a total transaction of $34,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,570,329.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, COO Michael S. Keim sold 3,633 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.76, for a total transaction of $104,485.08. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 55,679 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,601,328.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Jeffrey M. Schweitzer sold 1,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.50, for a total transaction of $34,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 90,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,570,329.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,389 shares of company stock worth $412,352 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 2.10% of the company’s stock.

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.