First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) Upgraded to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Raymond James raised shares of First United from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday.

First United Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FUNC traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $41.61. The company had a trading volume of 44,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 39,313. The company has a market cap of $269.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.21 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average of $34.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.82. First United has a 12-month low of $19.17 and a 12-month high of $42.50.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 research analysts expect that First United will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First United Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. First United's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Fourthstone LLC raised its holdings in shares of First United by 30.0% in the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 441,143 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,164,000 after buying an additional 101,915 shares during the period. De Lisle Partners LLP increased its stake in First United by 9.0% in the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 120,838 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,619,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of First United by 35.7% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 54,487 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,837,000 after purchasing an additional 14,348 shares during the last quarter. Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First United during the fourth quarter valued at $934,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of First United by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 24,893 shares of the bank's stock valued at $839,000 after purchasing an additional 1,180 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.27% of the company's stock.

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.