First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) Short Interest Update

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 15,500 shares, a growth of 63.2% from the January 31st total of 9,500 shares. Currently, 0.3% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 29,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.5 days.

First United Trading Down 0.4 %

First United stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $35.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,240 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,674. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $34.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.90. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $226.48 million, a PE ratio of 11.11 and a beta of 0.81. First United has a 1 year low of $19.17 and a 1 year high of $42.50.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.09. First United had a return on equity of 12.51% and a net margin of 18.45%. On average, analysts anticipate that First United will post 3.75 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Raymond James upgraded First United from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of First United from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First United

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FUNC. Fourthstone LLC raised its position in First United by 30.0% in the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 441,143 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,164,000 after purchasing an additional 101,915 shares during the period. De Lisle Partners LLP grew its stake in shares of First United by 9.0% in the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 120,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,619,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of First United by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 99,795 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,364,000 after buying an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Susquehanna International Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of First United by 565.9% in the 4th quarter. Susquehanna International Group LLP now owns 92,430 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,116,000 after buying an additional 78,550 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in First United by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 77,761 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,621,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the period. 33.27% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.