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

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 23,100 shares, an increase of 31.3% from the December 15th total of 17,600 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 21,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.1 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First United

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of First United by 13.2% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 39,947 shares of the bank’s stock worth $816,000 after purchasing an additional 4,645 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of First United by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 372,330 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,603,000 after purchasing an additional 24,457 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in First United by 14.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 82,195 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 10,280 shares during the last quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in First United by 4.2% during the second quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 124,556 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,543,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in First United in the third quarter worth $460,000. 33.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First United Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FUNC traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $32.95. 24,304 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,439. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $34.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.37. First United has a 12 month low of $19.17 and a 12 month high of $36.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $213.19 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.39 and a beta of 0.81.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.79 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $28.17 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.30 million. First United had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 12.20%. Analysts predict that First United will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

First United Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. First United’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of First United from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th.

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.