First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.07 EPS

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC – Get Rating) posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The bank reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.07, Fidelity Earnings reports. First United had a return on equity of 17.83% and a net margin of 25.29%.

NASDAQ FUNC traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.39. The company had a trading volume of 9,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,278. First United has a fifty-two week low of $16.26 and a fifty-two week high of $24.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $20.62. The firm has a market cap of $154.94 million, a P/E ratio of 7.93 and a beta of 0.81.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 18th will be given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 14th. First United’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.34%.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of First United by 660.3% during the second quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 4,113 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 3,572 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First United by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 47,813 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $889,000 after purchasing an additional 695 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First United by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 72,430 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,358,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares during the period. 29.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Investment Research downgraded First United from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 11th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on First United in a report on Tuesday. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on First United from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 8th.

About First United (Get Rating)

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. The company offers various deposit products, including checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, regular and individual retirement accounts (IRA) certificates of deposit, Christmas savings accounts, college savings accounts, and health savings accounts; Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service program and Insured Cash Sweep program to municipalities, businesses, and consumers; and commercial customers packages, which include treasury management, cash sweep, and various checking opportunities.

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