First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) Stock Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

Shares of First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $26.18 and traded as high as $34.75. First United shares last traded at $34.62, with a volume of 21,864 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

First United Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.00 and a 200-day moving average of $26.21. The stock has a market cap of $223.99 million, a PE ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 0.78.

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

First United Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 1st. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.54%. This is a positive change from First United’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. First United’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First United

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in First United by 72.2% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 66,698 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 27,973 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in First United by 103.1% in the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 22,805 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $522,000 after purchasing an additional 11,576 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in First United by 13.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 39,947 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 4,645 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in First United by 7.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 372,330 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,603,000 after purchasing an additional 24,457 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in First United by 14.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 82,195 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 10,280 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.27% of the company’s stock.

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.