First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

First United Corporation (NASDAQ:FUNC) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Tuesday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $33.16 and traded as high as $36.84. First United shares last traded at $36.01, with a volume of 21,140 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First United in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $42.00.

First United Price Performance

The business has a 50 day moving average price of $36.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $33.16. The stock has a market cap of $233.70 million, a PE ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, October 20th. The bank reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.18. First United had a return on equity of 13.49% and a net margin of 21.02%.The firm had revenue of $22.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Research analysts expect that First United Corporation will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First United Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 17th. This is a positive change from First United’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. First United’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Irvin Robert Rudy sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.35, for a total value of $74,700.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 37,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,400,625. This represents a 5.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders purchased a total of 309 shares of company stock valued at $10,113 in the last quarter. 7.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First United

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. De Lisle Partners LLP lifted its stake in First United by 7.9% in the second quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 150,390 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,670,000 after purchasing an additional 11,016 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in First United by 349.9% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 140,586 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,220,000 after purchasing an additional 109,340 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First United by 112.3% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 139,939 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,340,000 after purchasing an additional 74,032 shares during the last quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First United by 0.5% in the first quarter. Huber Capital Management LLC now owns 124,239 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,730,000 after purchasing an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fourthstone LLC purchased a new position in First United in the second quarter valued at approximately $2,965,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.27% of the company’s stock.

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.