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

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 7,500 shares, a decline of 51.6% from the February 13th total of 15,500 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 28,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.3 days.

First United Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FUNC traded up $0.46 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $30.87. The company had a trading volume of 21,514 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,725. The firm has a market capitalization of $199.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 0.77. 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 stock's fifty day moving average price is $34.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.11. First United has a fifty-two week low of $19.17 and a fifty-two week high of $42.50.

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

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First United Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. First United's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in First United by 5.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,713 shares of the bank's stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP boosted its position in First United by 9.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Fourthstone LLC boosted its position in First United by 30.0% during the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 441,143 shares of the bank's stock worth $13,164,000 after purchasing an additional 101,915 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in First United during the third quarter worth $97,000. Finally, Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in First United during the third quarter worth $126,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on FUNC shares. StockNews.com raised First United from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Raymond James raised First United from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $42.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th.

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.