First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) Shares Cross Above 200-Day Moving Average – What’s Next?

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) shares 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com raised First United from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th.

First United Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.16. The firm has a market cap of $206.78 million, a P/E ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.10. First United had a net margin of 14.70% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company had revenue of $28.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.30 million. Sell-side analysts expect that First United Co. will post 2.98 EPS for the current 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 $0.22 dividend. This is a positive change from First United’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. First United’s payout ratio is 40.93%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First United

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First United in the first quarter worth approximately $111,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in First United during the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD purchased a new stake in shares of First United in the first quarter valued at $209,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of First United in the first quarter worth $298,000. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of First United during the third quarter valued at $460,000. 33.27% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.