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

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,500 shares, a growth of 63.2% from the January 31st total of 9,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 29,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

First United Stock Performance

Shares of First United stock traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $35.16. 12,757 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,716. First United has a 12 month low of $19.17 and a 12 month high of $42.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.85. The company has a market capitalization of $227.45 million, a P/E ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.09. First United had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 18.45%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First United will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of First United

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FUNC. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of First United by 194.4% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 742 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 490 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in First United in the third quarter worth $97,000. Barclays PLC bought a new stake in shares of First United in the third quarter valued at $126,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new position in shares of First United during the 4th quarter valued at $237,000. Finally, 683 Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of First United during the 4th quarter valued at $339,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on FUNC. Raymond James upgraded First United from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised First United from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th.

About First United

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.