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

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,600 shares, an increase of 259.2% from the November 30th total of 4,900 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.9 days.

First United Stock Performance

FUNC traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $33.86. The stock had a trading volume of 18,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 22,740. First United has a 1 year low of $19.17 and a 1 year high of $36.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $34.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.01. The stock has a market cap of $219.04 million, a PE ratio of 13.76 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.10. The firm 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that First United will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

First United Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. First United’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.77%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First United

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.