First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) Short Interest Update

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 23,100 shares, a growth of 31.3% from the December 15th total of 17,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 21,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded First United from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th.

First United Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ FUNC traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $32.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 24,304 shares, compared to its average volume of 20,439. First United has a 1 year low of $19.17 and a 1 year high of $36.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $28.17 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.30 million. First United had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 12.20%. On average, equities analysts predict that First United will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

First United Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. First United’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First United

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FUNC. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in First United in the third quarter worth approximately $97,000. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in shares of First United in the 3rd quarter valued at $126,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First United during the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of First United during the third quarter worth $460,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in First United by 5.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. 33.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First United Company Profile

First United Corporation operates as the bank holding company for First United Bank & Trust that provides various retail and commercial banking services to businesses and individuals. It offers various deposit products, which includes checking, savings, money market deposit, and regular and individual retirement accounts (IRAs), as well as certificates of deposit.