First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Thursday.

First United Stock Performance

First United stock opened at $28.86 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. First United has a 1-year low of $15.68 and a 1-year high of $28.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $186.72 million, a P/E ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 0.78. The company’s 50-day moving average is $25.09 and its 200 day moving average is $22.90.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.09. First United had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 11.78%. The company had revenue of $27.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.34 million. Research analysts forecast that First United will post 3 EPS for the current year.

First United Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 18th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. First United’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First United news, Director Irvin Robert Rudy sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.52, for a total value of $55,040.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 37,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,018,240. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have purchased 188 shares of company stock worth $5,254 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 7.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First United

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in First United by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,136 shares of the bank’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. AJOVista LLC bought a new position in shares of First United during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First United by 13.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of First United during the first quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Finally, Huber Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First United by 4.2% during the second quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 124,556 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. 33.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.