First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average - What's Next?

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC - Get Free Report) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $25.16 and traded as high as $31.24. First United shares last traded at $31.10, with a volume of 24,669 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded First United from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th.

First United Stock Up 1.8 %

The firm has a market cap of $210.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.70 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $29.77 and a 200-day moving average of $25.22.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.10. First United had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 14.70%. The business had revenue of $28.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.30 million. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First United Co. will post 2.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First United Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This is a positive change from First United's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. First United's payout ratio is 40.93%.

Institutional Trading of First United

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FUNC. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First United during the first quarter worth $111,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First United during the third quarter worth $202,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD acquired a new stake in shares of First United during the first quarter worth $209,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First United during the first quarter worth $298,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of First United by 8.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,136 shares of the bank's stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the period. 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.