First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 12,500 shares, a decrease of 7.4% from the July 15th total of 13,500 shares. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 24,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of First United from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th.

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 transaction of $55,040.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 37,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,018,240. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 188 shares of company stock valued at $5,254. 7.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First United

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in First United by 8.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,136 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the period. AJOVista LLC acquired a new position in First United in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in 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. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in First United in the first quarter valued at approximately $111,000. Finally, Huber Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in First United by 4.2% in the second quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 124,556 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. 33.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First United Price Performance

Shares of FUNC stock opened at $28.16 on Wednesday. First United has a 1 year low of $15.68 and a 1 year high of $28.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $23.67 and its 200-day moving average is $22.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $187.24 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) 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 11.85%. The company had revenue of $27.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.34 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that First United will post 3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First United Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 1st. Investors 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 yield of 2.84%. First United’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.