First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) Short Interest Down 41.6% in January

First United Co. (NASDAQ:FUNC) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,500 shares, a drop of 41.6% from the December 31st total of 23,100 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 24,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of First United from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday.

First United Price Performance

Shares of FUNC stock traded up $0.26 on Friday, reaching $32.58. 26,958 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 29,410. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $33.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $210.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.24 and a beta of 0.81. First United has a 1 year low of $19.17 and a 1 year high of $36.49.

First United Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. First United’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.77%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First United

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FUNC. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of First United during the third quarter worth $97,000. Barclays PLC purchased a new stake in shares of First United in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $126,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First United in the 3rd quarter valued at $202,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of First United during the 3rd quarter worth $460,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of First United by 5.4% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $708,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares in the last quarter. 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.