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

by · The Cerbat Gem

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC – Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,000 shares, a decline of 32.4% from the March 15th total of 7,400 shares. Approximately 0.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 30,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.2 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First United

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Susquehanna International Group LLP boosted its position in First United by 565.9% in the 4th quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 92,430 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,116,000 after buying an additional 78,550 shares during the last quarter. Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of First United during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $934,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of First United by 218.9% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 24,146 shares of the bank’s stock worth $814,000 after buying an additional 16,574 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First United by 102.5% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 31,246 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,053,000 after buying an additional 15,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC bought a new position in First United during the 4th quarter valued at $529,000. 33.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First United Trading Down 0.2 %

NASDAQ:FUNC opened at $28.00 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $32.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $181.24 million, a PE ratio of 8.89 and a beta of 0.58. First United has a 12 month low of $19.17 and a 12 month high of $42.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts predict that First United will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First United Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. First United’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.94%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on FUNC. Raymond James raised 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 report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com lowered shares of First United from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 29th.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on First United

About First United

(Get Free Report)

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.

See Also