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

StockNews.com downgraded shares of First United (NASDAQ:FUNC - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Separately, Raymond James upgraded First United from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

First United Price Performance

First United stock traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $29.84. 9,958 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,572. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. First United has a one year low of $19.17 and a one year high of $42.50. The stock has a market cap of $193.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.22.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.95 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities analysts predict that First United will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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First United Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.95%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. First United's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.94%.

Institutional Trading of First United

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FUNC. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of First United by 194.4% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 742 shares of the bank's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in First United in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $97,000. Barclays PLC bought a new stake in First United in the third quarter valued at approximately $126,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in shares of First United during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Finally, 683 Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First United during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $339,000. 33.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.