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

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,600 shares, an increase of 15.2% from the October 31st total of 6,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 19,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days. Currently, 0.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

First United Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FUNC traded up $0.16 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.01. 18,451 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 22,944. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $32.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.30. The firm has a market cap of $232.98 million, a PE ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.80. First United has a 12 month low of $19.11 and a 12 month high of $36.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $28.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.30 million. First United had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 12.20%. Research analysts expect that First United will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First United Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. First United’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in First United by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 308,612 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,070,000 after purchasing an additional 10,800 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD bought a new position in First United during the first quarter valued at about $209,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First United by 72.2% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 66,698 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,360,000 after purchasing an additional 27,973 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 4,645 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of First United by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 372,330 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,603,000 after buying an additional 24,457 shares in the last quarter. 33.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.