First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) Upgraded at StockNews.com

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Separately, Raymond James upgraded shares of First United from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $42.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday.

First United Price Performance

FUNC stock opened at $40.10 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $33.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.45. The firm has a market cap of $259.45 million, a P/E ratio of 16.30 and a beta of 0.81. First United has a 1 year low of $19.17 and a 1 year high of $40.63.

First United (NASDAQ:FUNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The bank reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by $0.09. First United had a return on equity of 12.20% and a net margin of 14.70%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First United will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First United

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FUNC. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in First United by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 23,713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $708,000 after buying an additional 1,206 shares during the period. Barclays PLC acquired a new position in First United during the third quarter worth approximately $126,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in First United by 34.9% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 20,786 shares of the bank’s stock worth $701,000 after purchasing an additional 5,374 shares during the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in First United during the third quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of First United in the 3rd quarter valued at $97,000. 33.27% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.