Short Interest in First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) Drops By 38.5%

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,100 shares, a decline of 38.5% from the August 15th total of 14,800 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 20,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of First United from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Irvin Robert Rudy sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.52, for a total value of $55,040.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 37,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,018,240. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have purchased a total of 188 shares of company stock worth $5,254 in the last 90 days. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First United

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in First United by 8.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,136 shares of the bank’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in First United by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 39,947 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 4,645 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in First United during the 1st quarter valued at $111,000. Huber Capital Management LLC grew its position in First United by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 124,556 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gendell Jeffrey L increased its stake in First United by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Gendell Jeffrey L now owns 167,704 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,943,000 after purchasing an additional 7,064 shares during the period. 33.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First United Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ FUNC traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $28.97. 22,517 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,982. The stock has a market cap of $187.44 million, a PE ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.79. First United has a 52 week low of $15.68 and a 52 week high of $29.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $26.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

First United Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 18th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 18th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.76%. First United’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.21%.

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.