First United Corporation (NASDAQ:FUNC) Short Interest Down 45.4% in December

First United Corporation (NASDAQ:FUNC) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of 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. Currently, 0.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 28,811 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days. 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 short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FUNC. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First United by 349.9% during the 1st 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First United by 53.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 58,718 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,763,000 after buying an additional 20,387 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in First United by 6.7% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 26,549 shares of the bank’s stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 1,656 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in First United by 67.4% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 26,035 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $782,000 after purchasing an additional 10,483 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in First United in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $265,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 33.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

First United Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FUNC traded down $1.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $37.92. 16,051 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 21,354. The firm has a market capitalization of $246.48 million, a PE ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 0.54. The company’s 50 day moving average is $38.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.34. First United has a 52 week low of $24.66 and a 52 week high of $42.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $22.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.13 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First United will post 3.75 earnings per share for the current year.

First United Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. First United’s payout ratio is 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.