First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

FUNC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First United in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on shares of First United from $44.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Hovde Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $49.00 target price on shares of First United in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.50.

First United Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NASDAQ FUNC opened at $45.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a market cap of $292.70 million, a P/E ratio of 11.76 and a beta of 0.52. First United has a 52 week low of $33.54 and a 52 week high of $46.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.69.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 20th. The bank reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.08. First United had a return on equity of 13.69% and a net margin of 20.05%.The firm had revenue of $65.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.55 million. Research analysts anticipate that First United will post 4.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First United Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 3rd. Investors of record on Monday, July 20th were given a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 20th. First United’s dividend payout ratio is 26.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First United news, Director Irvin Robert Rudy sold 1,000 shares of First United stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $44.58, for a total transaction of $44,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 37,500 shares in the company, valued at $1,671,750. The trade was a 2.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Keith Sanders sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.68, for a total transaction of $218,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 10,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $451,738.56. This represents a 32.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 280 shares of company stock worth $12,816 and have sold 11,250 shares worth $500,752. 8.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First United

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its position in First United by 126.8% in the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 896 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in First United in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in First United by 102.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,524 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 770 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new stake in First United during the second quarter valued at about $102,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in First United during the second quarter worth about $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 33.27% of the company’s stock.

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.