First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

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 research report on Friday, February 7th.

First United Stock Performance

NASDAQ FUNC opened at $29.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $192.18 million, a P/E ratio of 9.43 and a beta of 0.77. First United has a 12-month low of $19.17 and a 12-month high of $42.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $34.14 and its 200-day moving average is $33.18.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.95 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts predict that First United will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

First United Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. First United’s payout ratio is currently 27.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First United

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Angel Oak Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in First United in the fourth quarter worth approximately $934,000. Barclays PLC bought a new position in First United in the 3rd quarter worth $126,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its position in First United by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 20,786 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $701,000 after purchasing an additional 5,374 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in First United by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 15,440 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $520,000 after purchasing an additional 3,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in 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. Institutional investors 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.