First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) Short Interest Up 259.2% in December

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 17,600 shares, an increase of 259.2% from the November 30th total of 4,900 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 19,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in First United by 5.4% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in First United in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $97,000. Barclays PLC purchased a new position in First United during the third quarter valued at $126,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew 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 valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 4,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Huber Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First United by 4.2% in the 2nd quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 124,556 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,543,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 33.27% of the company’s stock.

First United Stock Up 0.1 %

FUNC traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, hitting $34.00. 19,998 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 22,757. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.95 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.82 and a beta of 0.80. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.99 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $28.88. First United has a 12-month low of $19.17 and a 12-month high of $36.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 21st. The bank reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.10. First United had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 14.70%. The company had revenue of $28.17 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.30 million. Analysts predict that First United will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First United Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. First United’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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