First United Corporation (NASDAQ:FUNC) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

First United Corporation (NASDAQ:FUNC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 31,391 shares, a decline of 45.4% from the December 15th total of 57,516 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 28,811 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 28,811 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First United

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in First United by 9.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,208 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $191,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of First United in the third quarter worth $239,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in First United by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 101,118 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,718,000 after buying an additional 1,194 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in First United by 102.1% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 770 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in First United during the 3rd quarter valued at $926,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

First United Price Performance

First United stock traded up $1.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.41. 5,398 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 25,367. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93. The stock has a market cap of $256.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.54. First United has a one year low of $24.66 and a one year high of $42.50.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.18. First United had a net margin of 21.02% and a return on equity of 13.24%. The company had revenue of $22.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that First United will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First United Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. First United’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.15%.

First United Company Profile

First United Corporation is a bank holding company that, through its subsidiary First United Bank & Trust, provides a full suite of commercial and consumer banking services to individuals, businesses, and agricultural customers across central Oklahoma. The company offers deposit accounts such as checking, savings, money market and time deposits, alongside a variety of lending solutions covering commercial real estate, construction, agricultural and consumer loans.

In addition to traditional banking products, First United delivers treasury management and cash management solutions designed to streamline client operations, as well as online and mobile banking platforms for account access and payments.