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

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,500 shares, an increase of 63.2% from the January 31st total of 9,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 29,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days. Currently, 0.3% of the company's stock are short sold.

First United Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of FUNC stock traded down $0.63 on Monday, reaching $35.16. 12,757 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 23,716. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business's 50 day moving average price is $34.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.85. The company has a market capitalization of $227.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.16 and a beta of 0.81. First United has a twelve month low of $19.17 and a twelve month high of $42.50.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.09. First United had a net margin of 18.45% and a return on equity of 12.51%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First United will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First United from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Raymond James upgraded shares of First United from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First United

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FUNC. Fourthstone LLC boosted its stake in First United by 30.0% in the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 441,143 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,164,000 after acquiring an additional 101,915 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP boosted its stake in First United by 565.9% in the fourth quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 92,430 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,116,000 after acquiring an additional 78,550 shares in the last quarter. Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First United in the fourth quarter valued at $934,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in First United by 218.9% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 24,146 shares of the bank's stock valued at $814,000 after acquiring an additional 16,574 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in First United by 102.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 31,246 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,053,000 after acquiring an additional 15,815 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.