First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Separately, Raymond James upgraded shares of First United from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

First United Stock Up 1.1 %

FUNC stock opened at $30.02 on Friday. First United has a twelve month low of $19.17 and a twelve month high of $42.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $194.32 million, a PE ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $34.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $33.22.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.86 by $0.09. First United had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 18.45%. On average, research analysts anticipate that First United will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

First United Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. First United’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First United

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First United in the fourth quarter valued at $934,000. Barclays PLC acquired a new stake in shares of First United in the 3rd quarter valued at $126,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of First United by 34.9% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 20,786 shares of the bank’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 5,374 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in First United by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,440 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 3,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in First United by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $839,000 after buying an additional 1,180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.27% of the company’s stock.

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.